Songs of the Heart
by Marina Lenore
Summary: Music is life to Kagome, and when Miroku unexpectedly shows an interest in the thing dearest to her, it changes the both of them in integral ways. Miroku/Kagome, Canon Universe. Complete.
1. Flight of the Bumblebee

**A/N:** Okay so… This is an… _unusual_ fic; not just in general but for me. First off, as you have probably noticed just by looking at the characters, this fic will not be one of my two usual pairings, Sess/Kag or Inu no Taishō/Kag. I'm still not entirely sure what happened but I was drowning in writer's block and the ship that rescued me from it was _Miroku_ /Kagome. I was appalled at first. I hated that pairing. But I ended up getting really into the pairing after I wrote my two "Moments" oneshots. This fic is inspired by a scene from those in which Kagome has Miroku listen to a song and it strongly affects him. I might include that song in this fic but I am not entirely sure.

 _Secondly_ , this fic is **still in-progress of being written.** I have no idea _why_ this particular fic decided it wanted to be posted live – my muse is unreliable which is why up until now I have only ever posted _complete_ fanfics.

Thirdly, this fic is entirely based on music. Every chapter will be a song; _not your usual kind of song_. Largely classical and instrumental music. As of writing this A/N I am on chapter fourteen and **taking requests for songs and scenes to be portrayed**. I am at the Shichinintai (Band of Seven) right now – so! If you have a classical song that you think would fit well with a specific part in the manga (or anime, although I am basing this off of the manga for the most part) or even just a scene or song you would like to be portrayed, I will do my best to meet that request if the characters decide that it suits them.

Thank you for reading this stupidly long A/N, and I hope that somebody out there enjoys this experiment of mine!

* * *

 **Flight of the Bumblebee – Rimsky-Koraskov**

"What is it that you are doing, Kagome-sama?"

Kagome looked up, startled out of her music before she smiled at the newest addition to their group. It was Miroku-sama, and she smiled and patted the ground next to her as she looked up into his wise, curious aubergine orbs. Violet wasn't their colour, nor amethyst; no, his eyes were a darker hue than that. His eyes were the colour of eggplants – aubergines. Two wildly different sounding names for that same, vivid, deep purple colour. Not even Inuyasha or Sesshōmaru-sama's golden eyes could match it in beauty. Such an unusual colour.

He sat down next to her and she showed off the present she had been given for her fifteenth birthday – one of many of the small, compact items she had saved up for and bought once she began her trips to the Sengoku Jidai. Music livened her, heartened her, embraced her; she could not live happily without it, even when it made her heart ache. European and American Classical music, to be specific. She loved music without words the best; it pulled on your heart and imagination and soul, expressing without words those feelings so keenly felt inside of you. Or at least, it did for Kagome.

She gazed around at the field that had called this particular piece to mind. Bumblebees were flitting everywhere almost lazily, but she knew what that apparent laziness really was. Intent focus on their jobs, their duties. They had stopped in this glade to rest for the time being and so, since they were resting, Kagome was listening. She had to use her mp3 players (all four of them) sparingly because she did not know when she would get a chance to go home and recharge them. Of course, that in and of itself was why she had _four_ of these things with her. They could last for hours upon hours and so far she hadn't exhausted them of their battery life before she got a chance to go home and recharge them. Kagome was more careful of her precious music than she was of anything else from the future.

"I am listening to music, Miroku-sama. It is a pleasure of mine that I indulge in as frequently as possible. Of course, it is not as frequently as I would like, but such is life. Pleasure takes second place to duty."

Miroku-sama gave her a wry smile at her words, showing that he understood her – for all he was lecherous, Kagome knew that there was more to him than that, though he tried to keep it hidden where no one could find it. "Music is always a delight. May I ask what you are listening to at this moment – or perhaps listen for myself?"

Kagome looked askance at him and hummed softly. This was Miroku-sama opening up to her, even if only a bit. It was unhealthy to hold yourself behind a mask, for all that Kagome was guilty of doing the same thing, but… Their masks were so similar. Always the peacemaker for everyone else's benefit, always playing at happiness, always cheerful. Maybe… Maybe they could help each other. Kagome could _not_ let this chance go to waste.

"Of course you may. This is called "Flight of the Bumblebee" and I decided to listen to it when I saw how many bees were working on the flowers here in this meadow."

" _Working_ , Kagome-sama?"

She smiled and turned to him, her cerulean eyes bright with the excitement of imparting knowledge from the future onto one of her compatriots from the past. "Yes! Bumblebees don't actually fly lazily around for no reason, they are working! They collect the pollen from flowers and take it back to their hives, where they turn it into the honey that we find so delicious. In my time there are farms that house man-made hives to harvest honey from. They have another job, as well, they spread the pollen from one flower to the next, it is called pollination, and it is essentially fertilising the flowers so that they can grow and spread."

Miroku-sama's eyes were alight with delight, curiosity, and wonder. He was _far_ more interested in the workings of nature and the world around them than Inuyasha ever was, and it gratified Kagome to see such an interest in her words. "What does this song portray then? What is seen or what is fact?"

Kagome smiled mysteriously and pulled her earbuds out, selected the song again, and placed the earbuds into Miroku-sama's ears. Then she said to him, "Listen, and find out for yourself. Tell me what you think when you finish the song."

She hit play, and waited, the familiar tune buzzing about in her mind while he listened for himself.

His eyes widened, then darkened in what was probably delight. Flight of the Bumblebee was a delightful song, frantic and frenetic and filled with a sense of urgency and purpose that she sometimes felt when in the midst of battle.

"Working," he finally said, "frantic need, driven purpose, urgency in the midst of ordered disorder, things that _must_ be accomplished within a specific frame of time. That was beautiful, Kagome-sama. Thank you most kindly for sharing it with me."

She smiled shyly at him, filled with wonder because he _understood_ what that song made her feel. _He understands. Miroku-sama might be perverted on the outside, where he can fake his happiness and take pleasure from life in unacceptable ways, but inside he is like me. I_ _can't_ _let this be a one time thing._

"If you want, Miroku-sama, would you listen to more sometimes?"

He smiled a genuine smile at her – the first genuine smile she had ever seen on his face – and nodded. "I would be delighted to, Kagome-sama."


	2. Pastoral

**6th Symphony 'Pastoral' - Beethoven**

Kagome really liked Sango-chan; the taijiya felt like an older sister to the temporally-displaced miko, supporting her and backing her up against Inuyasha's treatment of her more loudly than Miroku-sama did.

Despite that fact, however, she was a little… Upset, with her. She had no _right_ to be upset, it wasn't her place, but she still _was_ upset. Maybe it was because, ever since she had shared one of her precious songs with Miroku-sama, there had been an understanding between them. He still felt her up, but it was so much more rarely than it used to be, and Kagome did not protest nearly as much, her slaps having softened. It was only for show, and she knew somehow that he would have stopped entirely were it not for the need to distract Inuyasha from saying or doing hurtful things to Kagome or Shippō-kun, the little kitsune she was perilously close to seeing as a son.

Huffing to herself, she pulled out her mp3 player and decided that damn it all she needed this. It didn't matter that this particular song was an enormous waste of battery life, being over forty minutes long. She _needed_ this right now. And she had a feeling that Miroku-sama did too, so once night had fallen she inched over to where Miroku-sama was faking sleep and touched his arm without a word, before moving into the forest, her bow and quiver (what little use they would be to her when she was such a bad shot) strung across her shoulder. Soon she could hear the soft _ching-ching_ of Miroku-sama's shakujō behind her as she wound her way to the stream. There she set her bow and arrows by her side, leaning against a tall boulder.

Miroku-sama sat down next to her, his shakujō leaning against the boulder, and he turned to her curiously. The first thing she did was reach over and tenderly explore the area where Sango-chan's hiraikotsu had slammed into his head earlier today. Just as she had thought, there was a large knot there and she growled in frustration. Talk about an inappropriate reaction! A slap might not deter Miroku-sama from groping you again but that was _no good reason_ to use a _weapon_ on him instead!  Especially a weapon meant for murdering yōkai!

Suddenly her hand was gripped, and concerned eyes were staring into her own. "Why are you so upset, Kagome-sama?"

"She had _no right_!"

He blinked in surprise, shock filling his eyes, and he spoke cautiously, as if he was afraid to misread the situation, "You… are displeased with Sango-san?"

She nodded and tugged her hand free from his so that she could pull on her hair lightly. His hands stopped her from doing that as well and she huffed softly, before exhaling slowly. "Very. Her reaction was overboard and inappropriate. You very well deserve a slap for groping somebody but not _that_. That is going too far. Even Shippō-kun agrees with me."

Her little boy had come to her very upset about Sango-chan's attack on Miroku-sama, because Shippō-kun adored the monk and didn't like to see him in pain, and it was clear that he _was_ in pain; not just physically, either. Just because Inuyasha and Sango-chan were blind to the pain swimming in those aubergine orbs didn't mean that Kagome and Shippō-kun were. Kagome wasn't Miroku-sama so she didn't know exactly what about the situation was causing him so much internal hurt, but she did know a way she could soothe some of the pain, even if only emotionally.

She smiled weakly at Miroku-sama, who was staring at her now with wide, surprised eyes, and held up her mp3 player. "I want to listen to something, and I want you to listen to it with me. It is very, very long, and part of it is far from peaceful, but I still think it is just what we need to soothe us after how trying and upsetting today has been. This song is called the 6th Symphony Pastoral. It's by a composer named Beethoven."

Miroku-sama smiled softly at her, and she placed one earbud in the ear nearest to her, and the other into her ear nearest to him, found the song she was looking for, and pressed play.

The symphony washed over her, and she relaxed against the boulder. This was _exactly_ what she needed.

* * *

Miroku knew very well that the little pleasures he got out of life were inappropriate. Not just for a monk, but at all. But he also would not lie to himself or act contrarily to what he wanted. Part of being a monk was an intimate knowledge of oneself. Besides, it wasn't as if he actually cared about or was serious about any of the women he flirted with, teased, cajoled, groped. He could be light-hearted about it because he _didn't_ have an attachment to them, and _didn't_ mean his advances. It was a good way to break the ice, find out information, make people smile, entertain himself and others around him, and to cause him to be overlooked so that nobody would see into the depths of his heart and soul.

He didn't even know why he felt so hurt at the moment, really. Sometimes the heart is unknowable no matter how well you know yourself. It wasn't as if the things that Sango-san had said to him were unfamiliar to him. Granted – no one had ever reacted so vehemently towards him before, or caused him pain in such a way that candle marks later he was still feeling the sting and the dull throb of the hit. Of course he deserved it. Would it stop him? Not really. He figured that this would simply be a pain he got used to; because he was not about to let any chance to lessen his physical attentions towards Kagome-sama go by.

Kagome-sama was perhaps the only human friend he had ever had – she had shared something intimate about herself with him, and he something intimate about himself with her, drawn out by her open humility and wish to care and help. And because now he had an _attachment_ to her, he felt the urge to stare, tease, touch, drop substantially. Of course, Kagome-sama was a great beauty, so it had not receded completely, but now it _felt_ inappropriate, instead of just _being_ inappropriate.

Kagome-sama knew this, he was positive of it. Her reactions had greatly gentled towards him when he touched her in any way, and he knew it was because she realised that he was only doing it because it was expected, or to try to divert Inuyasha's attention to something else when he was being unmanageable.

Her touch on his arm had startled him, but after she walked out of the camp site he grabbed his shakujō and followed behind her, bemused and wondering what was about to happen. For once he felt completely out of his depth – he was unsure of what would be awaiting him.

The _last_ thing he had expected was the feel of gentle, probing fingers on his head, a growl, and intense fury and frustration lacing her aura. Her response to his question was even more unexpected, and he was almost dumbstruck with having to face the fact that Kagome-sama was _worried_ about him and _upset_ for him. Not that her worry or upset in and of itself could be considered unusual; but he knew that she saw the taijiya member of their group like an elder sister and the fact that she did not agree with the treatment Sango-san had given him – was _angry_ about it, even – filled his heart with a slow warmth of happiness.

He had always known that Kagome-sama cared, but her concern touched him deeply. Her offer (demand, really) to listen to a piece of music with him was something he would not pass up; he wanted to know more about Kagome-sama, and for Kagome-sama to learn more about him.

The music washed over him, soothing and gentling the pain and hurt, and he felt Kagome-sama relax beside him; he relaxed as well, the beautiful sounds coalescing around his soul and cleansing it. He lost himself in the journey the song took him on, gentle, playful, teasing, sweet.

And then, after a very long time indeed and when he had almost gotten used to having the sound of the song in his ear, the tone of the music changed, almost abruptly, and he felt like a thunderstorm was upon the song. It almost made him laugh, this ferocity born from something that had been so soft and sweet mere moments before. It reminded him of Sango-san, but the reminder was… _cleansing_. Soothing. He looked over only to find Kagome-sama watching him and smiling softly, a lovely little gesture that spoke more than words could. This was part of why she had picked this song in particular; to soothe her own self just as much as to soothe him, knowing that the abrupt shift would be a cleansing reminder of earlier, that it would take away the anger she felt, and the pain he felt.

He smiled back at her, a true smile; he found that Kagome-sama was deserving of them, and so he should give her them. She nodded softly and closed her eyes again, her fingers tapping out the tune on her thigh. The song became light again, triumphant, even, and he sighed minutely. Kagome-sama seemed to know him as well as he knew himself, in some small ways. That could only be a good thing – she knew the burden of duty, the yoke of responsibility that came with having power.

He should teach her. Kagome-sama did not know how to use her abilities, and so he should take it upon himself to train her in their use, since Inuyasha would not give her over to someone stationary to have her trained. Her ki was not reiryoku – that was _blue_ , not pink – nor was it hōriki, but he knew many different exercises and ways to tap into spiritual energy and he should pass them on to her. That could only benefit Kagome-sama. And the group, of course, but Miroku felt indebted to Kagome-sama now, for the healing she had just given to his heart and his soul by sharing herself with him, by accepting him, by _looking_ at and _seeing_ him.

When the song was finally over she sighed softly, at the same time as he did, and he looked over at her, before chastely taking her hand in his and squeezing it gently. "Thank you, Kagome-sama."

She did not ask what for. Kagome-sama knew damn well why he was thanking her. Her entire purpose had been to give him something to thank him for – although _not_ in the way most people would take it. She did this for _him_ , not for his _thanks_. Still, she deserved them, and so she received them. The blush adorning her face was quite adorable, and he grinned teasingly at her before standing up, and helping her to stand. They walked back to the camp site in silence, comforted by each other's presence, before going to their bedrolls and slipping into sleep.


	3. Shōmyō

**Shōmyō**

They had stopped for the day, and Kagome was sitting against a tree, her breathing deep and slow as Miroku-sama's musical voice intoned slowly, directing her on how to meditate. It was so _difficult_ though. Kagome could _easily_ fall into a trance with certain songs, but with the chattering of Shippō-kun, the mewing of Kirara, Sango-chan chatting to Inuyasha, and Inuyasha gruffly responding back – she just _couldn't_ do it!

Miroku-sama could feel her agitation, and he stopped his slow, gentle words, humming softly before nodding and tapping her knee. "We need to be somewhere else, where you are less easily distracted, Kagome-sama."

Relief flowed through her. She hadn't wanted to suggest they move to some other place herself, because eventually she _would_ have to be able to meditate with the noise around her, without any music, and she absolutely did not want to make Miroku-sama disappointed in her on their first lesson. It was so kind of him to offer to teach her – even Inuyasha had been somewhat pleased with the offer, although he had crouched it in grumbles about how it was good that she would be less inferior to Kikyō. That had hurt, but the quick glimpse of acid in Miroku-sama's gaze had somehow soothed the pain a little bit.

She smiled weakly at him as she opened her eyes, and he smiled back, reassuringly. "I think I might know how to help you, Kagome-sama, although this will only be a stop-gap measure to teach you how to get into a meditative trance and show you the things you can do with your ki more easily."

She nodded, and did not make the request she desperately wanted to – yes, she could meditate better with some music on, but she couldn't _rely_ on that. She _had_ to do this right, and that meant learning the hard way. Besides, Miroku-sama said he had an idea and she trusted him.

So when he helped her stand up, she didn't ask to get her mp3 player. Instead she listened as Miroku-sama walked over to Inuyasha and Sango-chan and said to them, "Kagome-sama needs a quieter place to learn for the moment. Yes, Inuyasha, she will eventually need to be able to do this with chaos around her," he said, forestalling the hanyō's protests, and continued on, "but Kagome-sama has never had to do this before in her life, and needs to be able to first learn in _peace_ before she can learn in chaos. That is how everybody learns first, and Kagome-sama should not be held up to higher expectations than any normal being should."

Kagome flushed lightly at the way Miroku-sama said that, defending her in his own way against the constant comparisons and the ridiculously high standards and her seeming inability to do anything right. Kagome wasn't Kikyō – had no wish to _be_ Kikyō – and it was a relief that Miroku-sama wasn't expecting her to miraculously be amazing at this her first time around like Inuyasha and Kaede had with her bow and arrows.

So he led her away from their camp, and she followed him until they reached a small clearing. He looked around it and nodded firmly, motioning for her to sit down at the base of one of the trees. She chose one close to him and bit her lip, waiting as he gazed thoughtfully at her. "You do things much more… _effectively…_ with music, do you not, Kagome-sama?"

She blinked at that, but then nodded slowly, admitting to him, "It was difficult not to ask you to let me grab my mp3 player so I could put something on that I can meditate more easily to. But I know I have to learn how to do this without a crutch."

Unlike how Inuyasha always made her feel, Miroku-sama made her feel comfortable admitting her weaknesses, so her answer was calm, rather than worried. Slow, rather than rushed out. The smile she won for her admission was stunning, and he sat down cross-legged across from her. "My idea will work then. I know several chants that are musical in nature. We call them shōmyō. Shōmyō have two variations, one side being simple and easy to remember, rikkyoku, the other side being more complex and difficult to remember, ryokyoku."

Kagome listened avidly as he spoke; he was telling her things about his life that he had not shared with anyone but those he grew up around, she was certain of it, and she wanted to burn every word into her mind. "One of the ryokyoku that I know is a… _teaching_ song. I wish to use that shōmyō with you, but you may not wish for it – the effects are… intimate."

She blinked curiously and tilted her head before what he was saying registered. Kagome might be dense sometimes, but she wasn't _stupid_. "Oh! So your energy will _guide_ mine into learning the quickest way to do whatever it is that particular shōmyō is modified into teaching?"

Miroku-sama looked very proud of her for making the connection, and he nodded solemnly, before giving her a teasing little smile and asking, "I take it from the eagerness in your voice that you do not mind a little bit of intimacy with me?"

Kagome had to laugh at that, soft giggles spilling from her mouth before she shook her head. "Not at all, Miroku-sama. Please, teach me what to do."

He nodded again, and as she closed her eyes, he opened his mouth, a chant flowing from his lips as if they were born to make such sounds. Kagome couldn't discern the words, but she immediately became lost in his voice, a rich baritone that consumed her. Because she could not pick out the words, it eased her into a state similar to what her normal music did for her, and then she felt his energy winding around the small clearing, wrapping around her, caressing her, before it dipped into her mind and _flowed_.

She could do this, now. It was easy – and simple – to guide her energy in this state, with his hōriki embracing and enveloping her; showing her how to do this thing, how to do that thing, how to call her ki to the fore without having to be in an agitated, frightened, or excited state of mind to do it. She made a barrier without a second thought, widening it until it enveloped the entire clearing, strengthening it until she couldn't even see the trees through it. _He's showing me what I am capable of, what I have to look forward to, my_ _potential_ _, how_ _strong_ _I am. I can do so much if I put my all into this. I am_ _ **powerful**_ _._

His voice firmed as she thought that, strengthened; he could feel her realisation and was pleased with it, as he guided her energy once again, this time a little differently. He gently pulled her out of her trance and had her shape her energy without it, pulling it through her body to surround her, before focusing it in her hands and fingers. The power tingled, and she realised that when she learned how to call her energy like this without his direction, she would be able to purify on touch. His hōriki showed her how to weaken and magnify the glow, so that she could _injure, dissuade, distract_ , rather than killing outright.

She felt his elation through his hōriki, she felt his calm assurance, his pride, his delight – part of that delight was at practising his craft, at teaching, but there was no hiding the fact that the other part of his delight was at the fact that she trusted him enough to allow him to do this with her. Kagome focused on _her_ delight; at his kindness, at his protection, at his willingness to teach her when nobody else had the time, and he shot back to her a feeling that she _deserved_ his time, because she was his friend.

Miroku-sama (Kagome wanted to drop that -sama now; she was too familiar with him in this state to be so formal) did not have many friends, and so she was delighted by the admission of that as well.

Then it was back to shaping, guiding, this time showing her _how_ she went into a trance, and she memorised it, seared it into her soul, this knowledge that was so precious to her and yet was so freely given. Slowly, his hōriki receded. Slowly, his voice ceased to chant, and then he tilted his head at her, his eyes sparkling with challenge. Kagome was ready to meet that challenge. She closed her eyes, remembered what his hōriki showed her, and within seconds was in a meditative trance. She could sense _so much life_ around her right now. All the trees and plants in the forest, all the wildlife surrounding them, even their comrades back in camp. Miroku-sama shone like a beacon on her senses, however, and she knew that they would always be a part of each other now – always be able to sense one another, always be able to read each other's moods, always be able to be _right there_ without even a touch.

No wonder he had called it intimate. Kagome found that she didn't mind it at all though – she had asked for this, and wanted this, and even though this wasn't the exact thing she'd had in mind, Kagome had wanted to get to know Miroku-sama better when she first had him listen to one of her lovely, precious songs. Back then they had been acquaintances. Now they were _friends_ , and Kagome had a suspicion they would be closer friends with each other than with anyone else in the camp.

His hōriki murmured an affirmative to her senses, then tentatively brushed against her ki – did she mind, it asked. He hadn't warned her enough, it stated, and she shot back fiercely that she _wanted_ this. It receded back into Miroku-sama, humming in contentment, and she sighed softly, her eyes fluttering open again as she ended her trance. She was _exhausted_ now, and hungry, and drained. Not of energy – her ki was swirling around her, eager to be called upon and used – but just mentally drained from the effort it took to learn all those things, and the knowledge that even though she knew what to do, that did not mean she could do it _easily_. It would be hard, but worth it.

Miroku-sama was still in trance, and he was glowing a soft violet, before his eyes opened slowly and he gave her a proud smile. "You did wonderfully, Kagome... _chan_?"

The informality was unexpected, but it shouldn't have been, she realised – just as she had desired to drop the -sama, Miroku, who had felt her even more intimately than she had felt him, must have felt the same desire. So she smiled at him, before he said softly, "In front of the others, or just when we are alone?"

That was a good question, and she worried at her lower lip. She _wanted_ to show off that Miroku- _kun_ was her friend. But at the same time… Inuyasha was jealous, and possessive, even as he shoved her away and called her names and compared her to his ex. An idea sparked in her mind and she knew _exactly_ what to do. "Both, and neither, Miroku-kun. _No more -sama_. But we'll use -san for now. Teacher and student should not be on such formal terms with each other that it impedes their learning process, after all."

The smile she was gifted with was mischievous, and he followed up her thought with, "And over time, of course, as the student begins to surpass the teacher, formalities would be dropped completely. Entirely in public, so that everybody sees it happening and accepts it without thinking."

She laughed softly with a nod, "Exactly so! When alone, we shall be Kagome-chan and Miroku-kun, and in public we shall work our way towards them. Not too slowly – I don't want to wait at all but Inuyasha would pitch a fit – but say, within a month?"

"That sounds acceptable, Kagome-chan."

Her smile as they made their way back to the camp site was vivid. She had learned so much, all thanks to his shōmyō.

* * *

This wasn't working. Kagome-sama needed to learn how to access her powers in quiet and in peace before she could learn how to access them in the midst of busy people. After all, wasn't that how all users of ki learned at first? Kagome-sama should not be held up to a higher standard than anyone else, despite being the most powerful miko he had ever had the pleasure of meeting. So he woke her from her attempt at meditation, an idea simmering in the back of his mind as he walked over to Inuyasha and stated his intentions – defending Kagome-sama from more accusations of inferiority before the hanyō could even start in on her. Miroku was frankly sick of the damn hanyō's attitude, the constant negative comparisons, the way he almost never used Kagome-sama's name, referring to her by terms that were degrading instead of respectful.

Yes, Miroku himself might act disrespectfully towards women at times, but never like _that_. Kagome-sama was his  friend and deserved better treatment than what she got.

Sighing, he put those thoughts out of his mind and led the way into the forest next to their camp. He stretched out his hōriki and found exactly what he was looking for – an area devoid of the life energy of trees. It wasn't very large, which was good, and it was moderately far away, which was even better. He did not wish to share this experience with anybody except Kagome-sama.

When they arrived at the clearing he gestured for her to take a seat. She sat close to him, and then he outlined his plan, vaguely. He could have explained it in more detail, but Kagome-sama was quick and he knew she could figure his idea out; she deserved to feel proud of herself and so he would give her the opportunity to feel proud of herself.

She made the connection between his words and his idea gratifyingly rapidly, and the eagerness to her tone was an enormous boost to his confidence. Kagome-sama was not an unwilling student; Kagome-sama was eager, willing, desperate to do well. He teased her a tiny bit about her eagerness, but he understood it; part of the reason for this _particular_ plan was because he wanted to get to know his friend better, and this would allow him to do just that… while simultaneously allowing Kagome-sama to get to know _him_ better, but without him having to speak about himself overmuch. Miroku, despite all evidence to the contrary, did not actually love the sound of his own voice, pleasant though it was, and was still somewhat wary of speaking his feelings aloud. Even to Kagome-sama.

If this worked, he wouldn't need _words_ , which could easily be mistaken or misinterpreted or misused.

He began the shōmyō, first starting with the bare basics, and then slowly sliding into the intricacies where he _created_ the chant anew. His hōriki enfolded her ki and _guided_ it, showing her all the wide variety of things that she could do with her own ki. He basked in the presence of her aura, basked in her trust, basked in her _ability_. Kagome-sama could do anything she imagined with her ki – Miroku himself was no slouch with spiritual ability, but it seemed the only limit to Kagome-sama's powers was her own imagination, which was incredible.

Before long the -sama was gone – he simply could not call her something so lacking in intimacy now. Not after experiencing this closeness, this trust, this _friendship_. Good friends do not call each other -sama. And Kagome-chan was _definitely_ a good friend; had been even before now, with her silent acceptance and support. The barriers were gone now, however, and he opened himself up to her, allowing her to read him as she allowed him to read her.

As he slowly ended the chant and encouraged her to use her new knowledge for the one thing that he knew she would be able to do straight away from now on, no matter what the situation was, he waited for her to brush against him, and he queried. She knew now what he had done. He hadn't told her everything before he began this. Was she… upset with him? Did he misuse her trust?

She rapidly reassured him that not only did she not mind, she was practically insulted that he thought she _would_ mind. It almost made him laugh.

Then came the important part. He saw her shock melt into pleased happiness at the new form of address, and asked what they should do about it. Because whilst he was loathe to go back to using -sama for any reason whatsoever, there was the small matter of Inuyasha and his rages and jealous possessiveness. Kagome-chan's idea was perfect, and he was most pleased indeed at the time limit she imposed. A "month" was approximately a moon cycle. That was a very short time indeed to have gone from -sama to -chan and -kun, and he was most delighted that she was so impatient to get the façade over with so they could be honest about their close friendship in front of everyone else.

They might not have known each other for very long, but even before his shōmyō, that had not mattered. Kagome-chan was, in her deepest soul, two of a kind with Miroku himself – he had never felt such a strong sense of kinship and acceptance from anybody as he had felt from her aura that day she first let him listen to a song.

He looked forwards to seeing the way that music would further shape their friendship and their lives.


	4. I Miss You

**I Miss You – The Daydream**

Miroku smiled as he watched Kagome-chan play with Shippō-kun. She was wonderful with the little kitsune, and he idly caressed her aura in encouragement to guide her in the right direction – they were playing hide and seek and Miroku had no qualms about cheating, especially not when the sooner the game was over, the sooner something that would make Kagome-chan indescribably happy would happen.

See, Shippō-kun had never known his mother, only his father, and Kagome-chan treated him like she would have if he was her child by birth; bringing him treats, singing him lullabies, teaching him games, sleeping with him at night. Shippō-kun had confessed to Miroku that he wanted _very_ badly for Kagome-chan to be his mother… but was scared to ask her. Miroku had supplied an alternative that would allow Kagome-chan to guess what he wanted, without him having to ask her. "Okā-san" was frequently shortened to "'kā-san," and Kagome's name was only a little bit different than that. Shippō-kun could start out calling her "'kā-san" and before he got to the -san, correct himself to "Kagome".

Kagome was clever and would guess in an instant what he wanted from her, without him having to outright ask. And it would be happening as soon as this game ended, if Miroku got the feeling of gathering courage from Shippō-kun correctly.

She found him and the words out of his mouth confirmed Miroku's suspicions. "I'm _it_! You found me, 'kā-Kagome!"

Kagome-chan's voice was alight with happiness and wonder as she replied to him, "Did you almost just call me "'kā-san," Shippō-kun?"

His response was tremulous, as he answered with, "Y-yes? I-I..."

Kagome-chan wrapped her arms around the little kitsune and she said to him, clear as day, her smile outshining the sun, "I don't mind, Shippō-kun. In fact, I would be so, _so_ honoured to be your mother, Shippō-kun."

Shippō-kun sniffled and wrapped his arms around her neck, mumbling happily into her hair, "Okā-san. I have a 'kā-san now. T-thank you so much, 'kā-san."

Inuyasha wasn't here to ruin the moment, being out scouting for a camp for the night, so Miroku basked in the joy surrounding him. Sango-san had a fond smile on her face, Kirara was radiating approval, and Miroku himself was incredibly pleased that this situation was settled now. He watched on as they began a game of tag, until Kagome-chan directed Shippō-kun to play with Kirara for a while. Then she went to her bag and pulled out one of her music players, coming over to sit by Miroku. She was smiling happily as she looked over at him; since Sango-san was across the way, she couldn't hear them, so Kagome-chan used their private names for each other rather than the public ones. "You knew this was going to happen, didn't you, Miroku-kun?"

He smiled back at her and nodded, "I did, Kagome-chan. Shippō-kun was most nervous about asking you. I am glad to see his courage was not wasted."

She laughed sweetly, "You knew it wouldn't be wasted right from the start, you sneak. I've wanted this for ages now and you could read that clearly."

Miroku chuckled lowly and said, "Of course. And now what you both wanted has been achieved. Now, I believe you wish to share something with me?"

She nodded, "I think… You might be confused by my song choice this time around, Miroku-kun, but I will do my best to explain it to you properly."

Then she placed the little earpiece in his left ear, and the other in her right ear, before selecting a song and stating, "This is called "I Miss You" by The Daydream. It is also often misnamed as "A Melody of Tears" and assigned to being by Beethoven, which is how I learned about it to begin with, and I have to admit that I prefer the misnomer to the original name."

 _I miss you? Tears_? Why on earth would she choose such a sad sounding song for her joyous occasion?

Well, Kagome-chan said she would explain, so he would listen to her words. Sometimes words were necessary to get ideas across.

The music poured into his ear, and he was struck with a sense of beauty, and overwhelming sadness; a strange sort of sadness. "Shippō-kun never knew his mama. And he lost his father at such a young age… it breaks my heart to think about all the tragedy he has gone through in his life. I want to be there for him, never abandon him, soothe his pain. I love him so very much."

Miroku understood a little bit better now – the sadness was not for the occasion, it was for Shippō-kun's past, the sadness he must have felt at losing his only family when still being so young. This was how Kagome-chan felt about Shippō-kun in her deepest heart – love, acceptance, and loss.

"But listen – see? There is happiness now. The tears are not tears of sadness, they are tears of happiness, joy, relief."

And indeed they were – the song began a gentle series of notes that were beautiful, achingly so. They spoke of subsumed love and precious things. After a while, Kagome spoke again, "Shippō-kun and I have each other now – we are there for each other. He has a mother now, having grown up without one, and I have a child to love and adore."

By the time she finished speaking the song had also finished, and she made the music play into his ear again, "Now, listen to it with your understanding of the true nature of the song."

He did as she asked. It was immediately apparent, now, why the sadness was different, why it had felt strange to him upon the first listen. It was a sound of happy sadness. As the notes played in his ear they brought about so many varied emotions – not just from him but from Kagome-chan as well. He felt – and followed – the urge to grasp her hand gently, lacing their fingers together. Despite the breathtaking beauty of the song, it still made her sad to listen to as well. It was understandable – every time she looked at Shippō-kun, she saw his tragic past, she saw his loss and pain. There was no separating out the joy and love from the sadness, not when it came to Shippō-kun.

She squeezed his hand and let out a soft breath as she watched her son play across the clearing with Kirara. The notes of joy came again, and she smiled softly, her eyes shining with unshed tears. He brushed his aura against hers, sending her comfort and acceptance, she received it and sent back gratitude; for understanding her and accepting her as she was without question.

Miroku rather thought there was little else he could do, and felt that anyone else who could not do so was a complete fool.


	5. Requiem For A Dream

**Requiem for a Dream**

It was over. Naraku was, for the time being, defeated. Kagome was exhausted, frightened, and worried, as she ran over to her bag. She had been a much better help this time in the battle than she usually was, thanks to Miroku-kun's diligent teaching. Still, her group needed her aid, so she grabbed her first aid kit from her bag and ran over to them, stopping at Miroku-kun first. She fretted as she saw the bloody gash in his arm and the purple veins flowing onto the back of his hand. He had saved them all from Naraku's saimyōshō, but grievously injured himself in doing so. "Miroku-kun," she whispered, "you _have_ to be more careful of yourself!"

Then, biting at her lower lip, she thought back to what Miroku-kun had told her in her second lesson with him. " _Kagome-chan, your power is literally_ _unlimited_ _. You can do anything you set your mind to with your ki, and never, ever forget that. I think you could even heal yōkai with your ability._ "

If Kagome could do _anything_ with her ability… And if the area where Shippō-kun had been protected by her barrier hadn't even been _touched_ by the poisonous miasma, that awful jyaki of Naraku's not even daring to go near it…

Maybe she could purify the poison from his vile saimyōshō? _I can do anything, Miroku-kun says. If I put my mind to it then I_ _can_ _do this_.

She focused herself, focused on her energy, which was begging to be let out, begging to be used. She gripped Miroku-kun's hand tightly around the prayer beads, and focused her ki into her hands, driven by her worry and her fear to the point that it was almost easy; making them glow brighter and brighter, before she released her energy into his hand, intent on _destroying_ the poison there. Miroku-kun was her best friend; she absolutely _could not_ lose him. Kagome sighed with relief as she saw the purple veins almost immediately disappear, the poison floating up into the air before her ki purified that as well. Miroku-kun was staring at her in awe as she finished, and she smiled happily up at him before Inuyasha interrupted whatever Miroku-kun was going to say with a shocked, "What the _fuck_ just happened? You can't just… _purify_ poison!"

Her back stiffened and she whirled around angrily, glaring at Inuyasha. "Apparently, _I_ **can**. Say and think whatever the hell you want, it won't change what just happened or the fact that it happened. There's no way I will ever, _ever_ let any of my friends die like that, or suffer like that either. Sango-chan? Did you get stung? Or Kirara? I can heal the wounds for you."

Sango-chan was staring at her incredulously before she shook her head, "No; no stings, Kagome-chan, just some other wounds. Kirara could use a bandage on her right foreleg – she got pierced with a tentacle there."

Kagome nodded and she finished wrapping up Miroku-kun's wound, giving his hand an affectionate squeeze and brushing her aura against his before she ran over to Sango and Kirara, completely ignoring Inuyasha's furious spluttering. He'd done this before; any time she actually _succeeded_ in using her ability competently he seemed to fly into some sort of incomprehensible sulk. Miroku-kun thought that it was because even though he complained about it, Inuyasha liked the power that he had because he was the strongest person in their group; because he was Kagome's protector. If Kagome could protect herself, then his position in the group was no longer as exalted.

If that was the case, then Inuyasha was a complete hypocrite, and Kagome wasn't the least bit sorry for or guilty over it. Why _should_ she be? Oh – she had been at first. When, after only a week of practise, she had been able to make a barrier for their camp for the night, and Inuyasha had completely _raged_ at her, Kagome had felt completely  horrible. But then Sango-chan and Miroku-kun had come to some sort of silent agreement and took turns laying into Inuyasha over his words, and Shippō-kun had cuddled into her, whispering how proud he was, and she came to the realisation that it was _stupid_ to feel guilty because she was becoming _competent_. That realisation had come with a screamed out "sit" for Inuyasha, and a comment that if he didn't like her growth then she just would let him do all the work himself and stop learning.

As it so happened, that had been a bald-faced lie, but of course, her comment had made the hanyō backtrack. Kagome knew exactly why he had taken back his cruel comments though, and wasn't inclined to forget them. She would forgive Inuyasha, because she was a better person than to hold onto a grudge over words that had already begun to stop hurting her, she was becoming so used to them; but she absolutely would not forget.

Inuyasha only wanted her to get stronger because Kikyō had been strong, and he wanted Kikyō at his side, rather than Kagome herself. He thought the stronger she got, the more like her pre-incarnation she would be – yeah, _right_. If anything she was even less like Kikyō than she had ever been before, because Kagome _was not Kikyō_ and did not _want_ to _be_ Kikyō. Kagome only wanted to be Kagome. Kagome, the Shikon Miko, Kagome, the hard-working; Kagome the mother of her precious, wonderful Shippō-kun; Kagome, Miroku-kun's best friend; Kagome, Sango-chan's heart-sister; Kagome, the shard-detector.

Her position in the group was more important than just being a shard-detector, however, and Kagome was finally coming to realise that she, too, could be competent and useful.

Done tying off Kirara's leg, Kagome called out, "Inuyasha, do you need any help or will you heal fine on your own like usual?"

A shocked silence from the group met her words; but she was still angry at him for his interruption earlier and he always refused her help anyhow. Miroku-kun's aura was laced with a smug amusement despite his silence, and she bit her lip to stop from giggling as Inuyasha grumbled that it was about damn time she let him heal on his own.

 _Fine, if he wants it that way, he can **have** it that way. See if I  ever fuss over him again_.

Finally, they left the area and headed to a spot to camp for tonight. Kagome, still floating on the high of her accomplishment, wanted to listen to something… _different_ tonight. Something not to her usual tastes. _Requiem for a Dream, it is then, as unpleasant as it is to listen to._

Something to remind her of the battle – and what had followed it. She always remembered things best with songs attached to them, and this particular song was perfect to signify the terror of battle, the fright of Naraku, the fear of her friends being hurt and her being unable to help them.

So it was that when night came, she left the camp and brushed her foot against Miroku-kun's leg, stretching out her senses to find somewhere suitable. The onsen would be nice, but it was too close to the camp… Ah! There was a fallen long beside the stream that was close to the onsen, a nice little ways from camp. She had her bow and arrows, which she was slowly getting more accurate with, and she heard Miroku-kun and his shakujō as she sat down against the log, waiting patiently for him to sit next to her. Once he was sat down, she promptly put the earbud into his ear and he blinked, his aura asking her, " _Nothing to say this time?_ "

She shook her head. "I don't need to. You'll understand."

The pleased gratification she was met with was given a sweet smile, and then she pressed play.

* * *

The first thing Miroku thought, when he heard the latest song was, _This is unusual, there is vocalisation._

The second thing he thought was less of a thought and more of a chill gripping his heart, a thrill rushing through him, a nameless, soundless terror that caused him to hold his breath until Kagome-chan's aura brushed against his and reminded him that it was just a song, just a piece of music. He could feel it inside of her, too though. She had experienced this _exact_ thing the first time she ever heard this song, and while the song was not one she was overly fond of, it was still _important_ to her. It was _memorable_ and _unforgettable_.

This song was Naraku, through and through. It was battle, and fear, and terror, and sadness, and hatred, and driving madness. _Kami_ , no _wonder_ she wanted to listen to this tonight. He could feel the fright in Kagome's aura from earlier, the moment she had seen the damage Naraku's saimyōshō had done to him in his attempt to defend his comrades. The desperation driving her to force purification energy so strong that it had completely overpowered his senses into the hand with his kazaana, forcing the poison out, driving it into the air, and then purifying it. The energy had been so strong, in fact, that the damage from his kazaana had receded a little bit. Not an enormous amount – Miroku had _no_ doubt whatsoever that if it wouldn't drain her to the point of exhaustion for days afterwards, Kagome-chan would actually be able to get rid of his burden with her strange ki – but a noticeable amount.

Despite what a momentous occasion earlier today had been, there was absolutely no joy in the realisation at the time – afterwards, yes, but at the time it had been exhausted horror and fear and desperation.

Miroku was trembling with overflowing emotion by the time Kagome-chan's shaking hand grabbed onto his like a lifeline; it came with a slight reprieve in the music before it dove in head first once again. _Kagome-chan wants to remember today – as it really was, not through a misty gauze of optimism._

Miroku could understand that – he wanted to remember it too, although for different reasons. Triumph over Kagome-chan's power, over her growing confidence, over Naraku, over the hanyō who kept mistreating his best friend. Kagome-chan was finally growing strong enough that instead of uselessly fighting back, taking every word to heart, and allowing it to weaken her, she was ignoring the cruelty, seeing the degradation for what it was, and choosing to refuse to allow it to affect her. She was becoming so strong and so confident and Miroku was more proud of her than he had words to admit to.

The song ended abruptly, and Miroku was shocked back into the present, blinking and sighing shakily. He took the hand linked with his and kissed the back of it, before pulling her in for a hug. "I understand. Thank you for sharing your triumph and fear with me, Kagome-chan. I will treasure it."


	6. Autumn

**Autumn – Vivaldi**

Kagome wrapped her arms around Miroku-kun and squeezed tightly as he whispered softly to her. _I knew he would understand_. Now that the song was over, however, she needed to listen to something else, or she would have nightmares. She took in the deepening autumn around them and smiled, pulling away from the hug. "I need to listen to something else or I will have nightmares. Would you like to listen with me?"

Miroku-kun chuckled and said to her, "I will never turn down listening to music with you, Kagome-chan. And I admit, I could use something to drive away the terror the previous song inspired."

She nodded, and pulled up her Four Seasons album, then selected "Autumn". Vivaldi was a favourite composer of hers, his music was so, so incredibly emotive and stunning. "This song is part of a symphony called "The Four Seasons" and it has one part for every season; this one is for autumn."

Miroku-kun took in the forest around them, dark though it was, with a soft smile and nodded, "A suitable choice indeed, Kagome-chan. We shall have to listen to the part for winter once it is upon us?"

Kagome nodded, cerulean eyes bright and eager, "Oh yes! I listen to "Winter" every time it is the first snow of the season! We definitely must listen to it together. "Spring" is for when I see the first cherry blossoms starting to bloom, and "Summer" is the first scorching hot day of that season. Of course, those are not usually the _only_ times I listen to them, but, considering the circumstances, they probably will be for the duration."

He smiled more brightly and said, "I look forward to sharing those moments with you, Kagome-chan."

She smiled back at him and hit play, allowing the strings to wash over her, cleanse her of the lingering terror, and soothe her soul with their bright, vivid energy.

* * *

Miroku had to admit to the simmering relief inside of him when Kagome-chan decided they needed to listen to something else to purge themselves of the lingering vestiges of terror that the other song – for once she hadn't told him its name – had inspired in the two of them. Her song choice was particularly apt and he was pleased with the eagerness she imparted upon him to listen to other songs with him, to share herself more with him. It was such a delight to be with someone who wished to share themselves so intimately with him, who wanted a give and take relationship with him.

The new song immediately brought wonder and beauty into his heart, as he listened to the stunning strains of sound settling into his ears. The music, as well as her joy brushing against him, mingling with his aura, was like leaves dancing in the wind, light and carefree. Then the song shifted into an acceptance of loss, but an understanding that it was not entirely loss – the loss brought about new growth in the future. Following that, there was more dancing with leaves, before a solemn triumph that signified more of the understanding that the loss of autumn only heralded new life for new beginnings. Then the song rose again in higher triumph, and Miroku smiled as it ended. "That was just what I needed to hear, Kagome-chan."

Her smile was sweet and understanding, and Miroku was struck with her beauty in that moment – the beauty of a woman who embraced and accepted her fear and then was able to move on and start anew all over again.


	7. La Plus Que Lente

**La Plus Que Lente - Debussy**

Kagome had finally had _enough_. She was sick and tired of being treated like some prized possession to be passed around, and while he was nicer to her than Inuyasha was, her new-friend-slash-former-captor Kōga-kun was still treating her like a _thing_ instead of a person. Kagome didn't belong to _anybody_ but _herself_ and Miroku-kun – as her sensei and her best friend, he had more say over her actions than anybody else had a right to.

Admittedly, part of the reason it had taken her so long to decide that **this** was the right time to _end_ this  stupid fight over her person was because she hadn't actually been that frightened or angry enough to call her power to the fore more easily. She'd had to do it the hard way and that took time, even though she knew that it was only a matter of time before the king of the harpies came back for the Shikon shards that Kōga-kun was using. "Inuyasha, _sit_! Kōga-kun, if you do not shut up right now I will _purify you_."

Her hands were glowing with her ki, and the look on her face must have been frightening, because Kōga-kun's tail drooped and stopped its persistent swaying. Miroku-kun had been agitated for the entire time of this visit, although he hadn't been frightened for her – Miroku-kun had faith in her abilities and competence, and knew that she was becoming a formidable fighter, not to mention he could _feel_ her aura and know that she wasn't in any huge amount of danger. Well she hadn't been until the attack, but they had come just in time to help finish that attack off, even though the most dangerous of their foes escaped.

Back to the present – Miroku-kun was every bit as displeased with how Kagome was being treated, and she sent him a strong sense of gratitude before she spoke up. "I am _not your woman_ Kōga-kun – and _you_ do not have any right to claim me as your own either, Inuyasha. _I only belong to myself_! The only other person who has _any_ say over my feelings or my actions is Miroku-kun, because he is my sensei and my best friend. He takes care of me, teaches me, protects me, and supports me. _I am not some possession to be passed around_ , dammit! Kōga-kun if you ever, _ever_ call me your woman again I will zap you so hard you are stinging for hours afterwards. And Inuyasha if you don't stop being such a possessive asshole then I will sit you into the ground so much that you can't walk for the rest of the day. Nobody owns me except for _myself_!"

Miroku-kun was _radiating_ pride and warmth towards her now, and she basked in the feeling, until suddenly the harpy king was back and the battle was on once more.

* * *

Kagome-chan had been in a pensive mood for the past couple of candle marks, and Miroku was curious as to what song she would share with him tonight – because he had no doubt that today was a day she needed to escape from, although he got a feeling that her method of escaping from being treated like a possession might be somewhat different or unusual. Kagome-chan lived to surprise, after all.

So when she brushed against him on her way out of camp, despite the earliness of the hour he followed behind her. It truly wasn't _that_ early, but so far their night time moments with music had been closer to the middle of the night. Then again, Inuyasha was out meeting with Kikyō, so perhaps Kagome felt it was safer to leave earlier. When he arrived at her side, she leaned her shoulder against his arm and sighed. "I… Back in the beginning, before we became close, I thought I was falling in love with Inuyasha."

Miroku had known that. He had also known that her feelings had changed, although he wasn't sure exactly why. She continued, "Then you came along, and we became so close, so fast, such good friends, and I realised that it was foolish of me to think I was falling in love with somebody who… just… Constantly degrades me, can barely even say my name, only ever looks at me because I'm his ex-lover's reincarnation. Whatever Inuyasha feels for me, it isn't love, not really. Especially not love for _me_ , for _Kagome_. I… I really want to fall in love, though. For real. With someone who treasures me, adores me, treats me like I am the most precious person in the world to them. Not with someone who thinks they can own me, not with someone who sees me as an inferior reflection of someone else. Someone who… who wants _Kagome_."

He wrapped his arm around her, his heart aching for his best friend and for himself. The jealousy and dislike he had felt earlier, watching the hanyō and the ōkami fighting over Kagome-chan, had shocked Miroku into realising that he was, slowly, beginning to develop feelings of a romantic nature for her. How could he not? Kagome-chan was beautiful, sweet, kind, strong, compassionate, loving, powerful, stubborn, courageous… She was so perfect it took his breath away sometimes. Anyone who couldn't see Kagome-chan for herself and love her for herself – in any way – was a fool. Before recently, his love for her had been _entirely_ platonic, but now… it was inching away from that and towards something deeper. Stronger. And he was so _torn_ because she was his best friend and on one side, it felt like a betrayal of their friendship, but on the other side, it felt like a natural progression.

Kagome-chan turned to him, watching him intently, and then her vivid blue (cerulean, she said they were called) eyes focused on him and widened. She put her hand up to her mouth and he winced internally. He had forgotten for a moment that she could read him so well, and let himself get lost in his own turmoil. Slowly, so slowly it _hurt_ , her hand moved from her mouth to touch his cheek, and she asked him softly, "Who am I, Miroku-kun?"

She knew. She wanted to know. She was… considering. It was more than he could hope for, and he softly whispered, "Kagome. _Just_ Kagome. That is all you ever need to be."

Her hand trembled on his cheek, then steadied, and she slid it down to his chin, across his jaw, down his neck, and he shivered at the intimacy of the moment before her hand receded. "This song, "La Plus Que Lente" by Debussy, reminds me of falling in love. Makes me feel what it should be like to fall in love with someone, soft and beautiful and a little bit frightening. Will… Will you join me, Miroku-kun?"

Kagome-chan's voice was serious and tentative at the end, and hope spiked through him as he realised the enormity of her question. _Kagome-chan isn't just talking about the song. Kagome-chan is willing to accept me into her life in a new capacity, if I am willing to also take the same risk she is ready to take._

So, softly, he moved his own hand to her cheek, traced his thumb over her lips, and responded, "I would love nothing more than to join you, Kagome-chan."

She blushed deeply and bit her lower lip with a shy, hesitant smile, before placing the earpiece into his ear and placing hers into her ear, and then letting the music wash over them.

* * *

Kagome had decided on her song as soon as they got back to camp. She needed it. She needed the hope, the love, the fear, the joy, that Claude Debussy's "La Plus Que Lente" would bring upon her. It was a song of falling in love, of being in love, and while Kagome had never been in love (despite thinking she was heading there with Inuyasha before she abruptly realised a few weeks ago that he would never stop seeing Kikyō when he looked at her, and she deserved someone who saw her as _Kagome_ , and forced herself to cut those feelings off) she desperately wanted to experience it one day.

Not enough to be a substitute for someone else, though.

So when Inuyasha had left to see Kikyō, she only waited about half an hour before getting up and leaving camp. Miroku-kun was her best friend and he deserved to hear her feelings about today more than anybody else. He had been so upset for her when she was being fought over like some expensive _object_ that he deserved to take part in helping her heal from the experience.

So she told him. About how she had thought she was falling in love, about how Miroku-kun himself had been a large part of the reason why she no longer felt those feelings for Inuyasha; because her abrupt realisation had only been the last straw, the final notice. She had already been on her way out because she realised that the person she spent the rest of her life with needed to treat her like Miroku-kun treated her, not like how Inuyasha treated her.

She told him about her desperate yearning to experience a real love, a true love, with someone who wanted her because she was _Kagome_ and for no other reason. And she was surprised at the force of feeling, the torrent of emotions, swirling about in his aura. She reached out and felt what he was feeling – heartbreak, pride, jealousy, love, comfort.

Well, okay that was all fairly normal, although she wasn't sure why the jealousy was there… But why did something feel… _off_ to her? Something was different, and Kagome needed to find out what it was. So she took in the two strongest of the emotions, the heartbreak and the love, and examined them. _What has changed about this_?

And then she almost gasped. Miroku-kun… He… He wasn't just hurting for _her_ , he was hurting for _himself_ as well. _Miroku-kun loves me. I know this. I am his best friend, and he is my best friend. We love each other. But now…_ _The love he has is changing._ _Then;_ _earlier_ _– that must be what the jealousy was about. Miroku-kun… Miroku-kun only realised when I was being fought over that something had changed. That was why he was so overwhelmingly agitated. That is why he hurts for himself and not just for me._

Kagome took in this new information and _thought_. Miroku-kun treated her amazingly. He always listened to her, always helped her, always supported her, always cherished her. He had never hidden the fact that she was precious to him, being his best friend and his only best friend. Miroku-kun never did anything inappropriate to her any more, hadn't for _ages_ , and she trusted him with her life just as he trusted her with his life. Yes, he was still a lecher around other people – he still groped Sango-chan and regularly got slapped (or hit over the head with her hiraikotsu, which still pissed Kagome off) for his efforts. He still flirted with every pretty girl they came across. He still asked random women he had never met before to bear his child.

But that was just the _tiniest part_ of who Miroku-kun really was. He was serious, and wise, and amazingly humble for someone so powerful, and was intelligent and loved to learn, loved to teach. He was a wonderful friend and confidant and she knew that his regular antics during the day were just a part of his mask that he kept up so that nobody else would see his pain, his fear, his serious thoughts, his genuine compassion. Kagome had gotten _so very lucky_ that he decided to let her in. Miroku-kun had gotten lucky as well, because it was _so unhealthy_ to keep everything behind a mask all of the time.

That firmed up her thoughts, her decisions, and so she reached out and touched his cheek, with a hand that was only steady because she was certain that she wanted this, and asked him the most important question she had asked him so far, although if he answered her like she thought he would… a more important one would be coming later.

His answer was all she needed to hear. _I am_ _just_ _Kagome to him, and he is beginning to fall in love with me_ _ **because**_ _I am_ _just_ _Kagome. I could fall in love with him; maybe a part of me already_ _is_ _falling in love with him, considering how easy it was for me to decide this._

She took the trembling hand upon his cheek and firmed her touch, then traced down to his jaw, across it, and down his neck. _His skin is so warm, and he is as nervous about this as I am._

So Kagome told him what the song made her feel, and asked him if he would, not just listen with her, but also _be_ with her. If he would join her on not only the journey the song would take them on, but the journey that their emotions would take them on. His answer made her heart soar, and she shyly settled them in and hit play, completely unsurprised when Miroku-kun's hand enveloped hers and linked their fingers together, squeezing softly.

She squeezed back, because Miroku-kun was now her lifeline.


	8. Clubbed to Death

**Clubbed to Death – Rob Dougan**

Koharu was… _annoying_. Miroku-kun felt that way too, calmly fending off her flirtatious behaviour and sticking close to Kagome. His aura kept brushing hers reassuringly, telling her that he wanted to be with _Kagome_ , not Koharu, that he loved _Kagome_ , that he needed _Kagome_. It kept her calm, as did Sango-chan's solid presence, although Sango-chan had made Kagome a little angry earlier when she asked Kagome if she thought that Miroku-kun had been Intimate with Koharu when they first met; the girl had only been _eleven_ then, for Kami's sake! Miroku-kun might be a lecher on the outside but he wasn't like _that_.

Sango-chan had looked at her measuringly after she told her that, then given her an apologetic smile and told Kagome that she would try to remember that there was more to Miroku-kun than his outwards behaviour. Kagome was pretty sure that Sango-chan had _noticed_ the new dimension to her relationship with Miroku-kun, and whilst not _exactly_ approving of it, she wasn't _disapproving_ either. Sango-chan wasn't sure what to think, but she _did_ very much appreciate the way Miroku-kun treated Kagome and so would support her decision. Kirara, on the other hand, _strongly_ approved. Whenever Kagome was sitting next to Miroku-kun Kirara would come sit by them in such a way that they could hold hands without anybody unwanted (namely Inuyasha) seeing them.

Shippō-kun had tentatively asked her what happened between her and Miroku-kun and she had confided in him that Miroku-kun was courting her, and did he mind? Shippō-kun had excitedly told her that he didn't mind at _all_ , because Miroku-kun was _great_.

So those things were all settled now, and Kagome had a plan in mind for when Inuyasha eventually noticed what was going on. If he pitched a fit at her, she would throw his language back at him and viciously remind him of the only reasons he even cared about Kagome to begin with, which were exactly the opposite of why Miroku-kun loved her and was falling in love with her.

Right now, however, they were on a journey to a village with Koharu, and soon enough she was dropped off and given a new home. Miroku-kun was gentle with his insistence that Koharu couldn't come with them, but also firm, and very careful not to lead the girl on.

Miroku-kun had been torn about that; not with regards to Koharu, but whether he should lose his mask and stop his flirtatious behaviour because he was pursuing Kagome – he was so sweet, and really wanted to make sure he didn't hurt her. Kagome had asked him seriously, already knowing the answer but wanting him to realise for himself why she didn't mind his lecherous behaviour, if he actually cared about any of the people he flirted with and asked to bear his child. His answer had been an adorably confused, "Of course not. That's _why_ I can act as I do towards them. The moment I become attached to someone I stop inappropriate behaviour if possible."

She had giggled and then his eyes cleared up, and he had asked her if she would be _more_ worried about his actions if he  stopped his lecherous behaviour right now, and she had nodded at him, and told him, "Once we finish Naraku, you won't need your mask any more. I will want you to discard your mask then, because all the pain from this..." she had trailed her hand down and caressed the fabric over his kazaana, "will be gone; but wouldn't it hurt you more to bare yourself to people you do not trust like you trust me than it would to risk my potential – and _unlikely_ – jealousy?"

Miroku-kun had kissed her cheek and held her close at that, his aura radiating wonder and happiness and gratitude for her understanding and acceptance of _who he was_.

Kagome was jerked out of her thoughts as the villagers attacked them, and she and Miroku-kun immediately noticed that something was wrong. They ran to find Koharu, who informed them of a yōkai presence, and Kagome sensed something… _off_ about the girl, but agreed to protect her whilst Miroku-kun and Inuyasha fended off the villagers. She put up a barrier around Koharu, Sango-chan, and herself, and suddenly a presence that had no energy whatsoever flitted in front of them. Sango-chan threw her hiraikotsu at the young-looking girl, but was knocked out when it rebounded back at her, and Kagome strengthened her barrier. _I have to protect… them…_

Her barrier flickered and faded as her ki was sucked from it, then sucked out of her body and into the yōkai's mirror. She struggled to sit up, panting. Her body was heavy. It hurt to move. Something integral to her was gone, and she was lost in screaming, fighting to pull it back to her. _No! I can't let this happen! I can't leave Miroku-kun and Shippō-kun and Sango-chan and Kirara and Inuyasha alone!_

She pointed her arrow at the yōkai, but soon it was gone, and her soul with it, no matter how desperately she was pulling on her ki to grab it back to her. And then Miroku-kun was in the hut, calling out to her, and she desperately wanted him, wanted to feel his aura brush against hers, to comfort hers, but it was no use; her ki, her soul, it was gone.

* * *

Shippō-kun rapidly explained what had happened to Sango-san, Koharu-chan, and, most importantly, Kagome-chan. That Kagome-chan was even able to move in her state was amazing, a true testament to her strength and willpower, but Miroku could frankly care less about that right now. _Kagome-chan's life is in danger. We must find that yōkai and get her soul back._

Koharu-chan was a minor nuisance, but soon she was knocked out and draped over Kirara along with an unconscious Sango-san, and Miroku tenderly lifted Kagome-chan onto his back. She moaned in pain as he did so, and he wished he could comfort her how he usually did, but her aura was gone. "Shh, I'm here, Kagome-chan. I've got you. We'll find the yōkai and get your soul back, I promise."

There was no answer, but he hadn't expected one from her. Instead when they reached the place of their arrival he set her down gently, and headed off to face off against the newly-appeared Naraku. _The white yōkai has Kagome-chan's soul. I_ _must_ _get it back!_

* * *

Inuyasha was dying. Sango-chan was knocked out. Shippō-kun was not going anywhere _near_ the yōkai who had stolen part of her. Only Kirara and Miroku-kun were able to do anything – no; no that was absolutely not true! It _wouldn't_ be true! Kagome could _still shoot_. Even if just regular arrows, she could still be of use. So she beckoned to Kirara, as she heard the comments about taking Inuyasha's head off. _He might not treat me well very often but he is still my friend. I cannot allow them to kill him, and I cannot allow Miroku-kun to be all alone._

"Kirara, take me to Inuyasha, please. We have to help him."

Kirara obliged, and they were just in time for Kagome to fend off an attack from Kagura. Then she focused on Naraku, her arrow aiming true as she noticed the Shikon fragment, and was informed that Kikyō had been the one to give it to him – that was the fragment Kikyō had stolen from Kagome. Wait – why could she still see the fragment if her ki was gone? She looked at the mirror and saw a pink light overflowing from it. _That is my soul. That is my ki._ _If I can shatter the mirror… The souls will escape._

Kagome aimed.

Kagome fired.

Kagome struck.

Her arrow was swallowed, and shortly Kagome was swallowed with it – but she was fighting. She was pulling, tugging, reaching. Demanding that her soul come back to her. Fighting against the mirror. _Miroku-kun. Shippō-kun. Sango-chan. Kirara. Inuyasha. Mama. Sōta. Grandpa. These are why I fight. Not for revenge against myself, but for the safety of the world, for my friends, my family, the people I_ _love_ _._

Kagome exploded out of the mirror, diving back into her body. "Miroku-kun! The kazaana!"

There were saimyōshō around but that didn't matter because she could heal that. It was most important that they get rid of Naraku's detachments – but it failed. Naraku was too fast, and as he left and taunted them, Kagome thought that she needed to melt right now. But no, they had things to do, so she helped Miroku-kun (his aura was so intermingled with hers right now that she thought he might never leave them separate again. Kagome was glad for the closeness) heave Inuyasha and Sango-chan onto Kirara's back, and they left to find a secure place to rest.

* * *

Kagome-chan had her music player in her hand, and was clinging as tightly to Miroku as he was clinging to her. _I almost lost her. The most precious person in my life almost died today._

Her aura caressed his. " _It's al_ _l_ _right,_ " it told him. " _I am still here, still with you. I fought to come back for you. I will not leave you._ "

It wasn't enough. He almost lost Kagome-chan today, and he was more shaken by that realisation than he thought he could ever be concerned with somebody else. Kagome-chan had changed him deeply and intrinsically. Soon she was finished searching through her music player, and had a song ready for them to listen to. He hoped it soothed his soul – he needed soothing right now. He thought, anyway – if he didn't Kagome-chan would surely know what it was he truly needed to recover from the fright of almost losing her today.

"This isn't something I would usually listen to," she said gently, "and it isn't soothing all the way through, although parts of it are a beautiful balm. But it… I fought, Miroku-kun. For you, and Shippō-kun, and Sango-chan, and Kirara, and Inuyasha, and my family in the future. This song is my fight. And part of it… is how I felt without my soul. I… I can't explain in words, or with my emotions, but the music can explain it for me. This song is called "Clubbed to Death" by Rob Dougan and it is from a film series soundtrack."

So he listened.

At first it _did_ sound like something she would normally listen to, desolate and beautiful – and then the drums and strange sounds replaced the strings. It was a song of flight, fright, suspicion, fear, desperation, need; new sounds being added in and taken away to add emotions here and there. Determination. Courage. Will. Desolation. Hope, and hopelessness. And then the piano started up, and it was _beautiful_.

This was the soothing balm he needed, the sense of loss, filled with a sense of desperate determination to survive. Strings came in, and the tune gained more depth and feeling, before the part that had come previously to this started back up again. Soon enough the piano came back in to mix with the drums and other odd sounds, and it was driven, focused; burning, burning, burning.

The strange sounds stopped and the piano was almost alone, left only with the drums, before strings replaced the drums and began the hauntingly beautiful tune from before that had soothed him even as he ached to know that Kagome-chan had felt like this without her soul. The song ended with that part of the tune, and he noticed that his body was much more relaxed than it had been previously, and so was Kagome-chan's.

He had been right. He didn't need soothing, he had needed to know that Kagome-chan was _alive_ and this song, strange as the title was, had showed him that acutely. He hadn't lost her. She fought to come back. For them. For _him_. His arms tightened around her and he released a shaky sigh when her hand came up to caress his cheek. "Thank you. I needed that, Kagome-chan. Thank you for sharing your experience with me."

Kagome-chan leaned up and pressed her lips to his. It was feather-light, gentle, achingly sweet, as she pulled away and buried her face in his shoulder. His fingertips touched his lips wonderingly, before he held Kagome-chan even tighter. _She kissed me. I thought that I would end up being the one to make the first move, but no, something about this experience gave Kagome-chan_ _the courage_ _to take the first step._

She was shaking lightly now, so he pulled her head free from where it was buried and pressed his lips against hers this time around, then diverted his lips from her mouth when he noticed that she was crying, and kissed her tears away. Kagome-chan had been so, so terrified. She needed comfort more than he did right now, and so he gave her the comfort she needed, wrapping her in his aura, holding her close, and pressing soft kisses to her face in between gentle murmurs of how much he adored her, needed her, loved her, how proud he was of her, how strong she was, how beautiful and amazing and perfect she was.

He gave her everything he had to offer, and eventually her tears stopped and she sagged against him, exhausted. He gently stood with her still in his arms and walked back to camp, ignoring the soul collectors that he passed by. Kikyō surely had some plan when she gave up her shard fragment to Naraku, and she was no danger to them right now. Kagome-chan was all that was important, he thought, as he tucked her into her bedroll and stroked her hair until she fell asleep.


	9. Mariage d'amour

**Mariage d'amour – Paul de Senneville**

The past few days have been… difficult. First Tessaiga broke, then they were attacked by a mind-controlling sword in the hands of a yōkai, then they were attacked by Sesshōmaru-sama and found out that without Tessaiga Inuyasha goes batshit insane, _then_ they were attacked by more of Naraku's incarnations – Kagome hopes whatever plan Kikyō had was worth letting Naraku become so damn powerful. Inuyasha almost died, and Kagome's trips home were… stressful, to say the least. She has no interest whatsoever in Hōjō, and has to admit to her relationship with Miroku-kun to her friends in the future. They pry and pick until she tells them more about him, carefully leaving out details that might make them guess at his true nature. It isn't that Kagome is ashamed of Miroku-kun, not at _all_. It's just that they don't deserve to know about him, the wonderful man who is ever so slowly winning her heart.

Kagome had been glad that she'd given up on Inuyasha when she saw him embracing Kikyō – how much would it have hurt her to see that if she was in love with him?

Almost losing her soul has had a strong affect on Kagome. Not just almost losing her soul, but Miroku-kun's reaction to it, his desperation, fear, loss, longing. Kagome won, though, Kagome survived, lived through it, and found out that her soul is far too big for Naraku to steal. She is more confident now, practises more with her bow and arrows _and_ with her ki, Insists on getting what she _needs_ instead of letting Inuyasha just run roughshod all over her.

It's had an effect on the group, as well. They are all a bit more careful of her; even Inuyasha is being nicer to her lately, although she's not entirely sure if it's just her almost losing her soul or if it's guilt over Kikyō – despite the fact that she told him quite honestly that she didn't care about him meeting with Kikyō – but whatever the case is, she's relieved about it more than she is worried about it. Inuyasha still loves Kikyō, and Kagome is giving him more and more reasons not to develop an attachment to her any more than he already has – she'd rather he look at her more like a sister figure than she would him look at her like a lover. He can save _that_ for Kikyō.

Miroku-kun…

Miroku-kun has become devastatingly smug and incorrigible around her now. Whenever they are alone and not deep in practise and teaching, he is touching her in some way; kissing her hands, her cheeks, her hair, her lips. Holding her close to him, stroking over her back and sides, and just generally acting as if he cannot get enough of her presence. It's incredibly flattering, sweet, and unexpected. Kagome had no idea that kissing him would lead to this – and admittedly part of it might have to do with her almost losing her soul – but she is beyond pleased with the results of the things that have happened lately. Miroku-kun's aura is constantly brushing against hers, communicating his love and devotion, his trust and confidence, his adoration and protectiveness.

Kagome is glad that her suitor is confident in himself, rather than insecure and easily jealous. Especially since Kōga-kun still flirts with her every time he comes around – although he very intelligently _did_ stop calling her his woman.

Which brings her to tonight. Kagome has a special song in mind for tonight, one that is achingly bittersweet and beautiful. She needs the bittersweet right now, because her life is full of so much regular sweetness that she could almost explode with it, so she needs something a little darker to counterbalance the lightness of her life. Despite all the stress of her life right now, Miroku-kun brings relaxation and rest to her days.

* * *

Miroku was ready. Kagome-chan had something on her mind today that let Miroku know that she would come for him tonight, and so he was ready when she brushed her aura against his; calling, beckoning for him to follow her and let her show him whatever it was that was on her mind. So he followed after her as she left the camp, his shakujō chiming lightly in the night air.

Miroku thought that Inuyasha was already aware of their attachment; how could he not be when Kagome-chan so regularly called Miroku to her side during the day, so eagerly spent time with him, so willingly submitted to his teachings and his touches? Miroku had gotten bolder around the hanyō as of late, and Inuyasha – while not exactly _pleased_ – hadn't put up a fuss. He thought it was because Inuyasha had Kikyō to go to, and even though he despised that Kagome-chan's soul was mutilated in order to bring Kikyō back to a half-life, he could only feel thankful for her existence.

The monk was falling harder for the miko every single day; she brought so much sweetness and light to his life that he could almost burst with it. He hoped that whatever she decided on to listen to tonight was less sweet than she was to him right now, because otherwise he might not be able to resist deepening their relationship in a way she might not be ready for yet.

When he sat down next to her and pulled her into his lap she giggled cutely, and said to him, "Do you ever feel like your life is so happy and wonderful that you need something a little darker to counterbalance it?"

He blinked, before chuckling, "I was just thinking that exact thing as I was walking behind you, Kagome-koishi."

She blushed at the nickname, before smiling up at him and saying, "This song is beautiful, but a little bittersweet, because I need something less happy than my life is right now or I might just burst with happiness because of you."

Miroku was rather predictably pleased with her comment, as she placed the earpieces into their ears and made the music play. He was immediately overwhelmed with the sheer beauty of the piece, as she murmured softly, "This is called "Mariage d'amour," by Paul de Senneville."

He listened as the bright, high notes with a hint of sharpness to their tones filled his ear, and tightened his arms around her, leaning down to kiss her softly. She submitted to his kiss as the notes slowed and lowered, changing their tune before scaling back up and resuming their previous arrangement. The song was as beautiful as Kagome-chan was, he thought as the notes lowered and slowed once more. Then they went back to their lightness and the song ended on a few soft notes that were achingly bittersweet.

The song was just what he needed, and as usual, Kagome-chan knew that exactly; because she needed it for herself. He broke the kiss only to pepper more across her cheeks as she softly smiled at him. "Better?" she asked him.

"Much," he replied back to her. "That is exactly what I needed right now."

She relaxed against him, gently playing with the hair of his ponytail, and he held her closer. He loved his precious Kagome-chan so very much.


	10. 1812 Overture

**1812 Overture – Tchaikovsky**

Kagome had been incredibly proud of Inuyasha when he defeated Ryūkotsusei, although it had been a difficult fight. Partly because she'd had to just stand aside and not participate, and partly because Inuyasha had gone full out raging yōkai on the dragon yōkai, which was unpleasant to say the least. Kagome hated it when Inuyasha lost the Tessaiga, it was frightening because she might have to attack him in order to save herself from his bloodthirstiness and he was her friend; she didn't want to injure him in any way.

Right now, however, she was fighting for her sanity. It was easier than she had thought it would be, to combat Tsubaki's mind control techniques, and Kagome was absolutely positive that this was only because of Miroku-kun's teaching her how to use her abilities properly. She could more easily defend not only her body, but her mind as well. So she fought, and struggled, and ignored the taunting that the dark miko was giving her. Kagome knew that she wasn't Kikyō, wasn't as knowledgeable as the other miko ( _yet_ ), but she was more powerful than Kikyō and she knew it well. Kikyō herself had admitted to this, in front of Kagome, even. Tsubaki couldn't do nearly as much as Kagome could, since she hadn't even been able to match up against Kikyō when the now-undead miko was alive.

Tsubaki had to make deals with evil yōkai in order to survive and be powerful. Kagome did _not_.

Miroku-kun was close by, his aura strengthening hers as she fought against the mind control, giving her courage and power to resist. _I can't let her make me hurt my friends and loved ones_.

Kagome might not be in love with Inuyasha, but he was still her friend – even more so now than he had been to begin with, as he was actually nicer to her now, used her name instead of "wench," "woman," or "bitch," and respected her wishes more often. He'd stopped heaping abuse on her son as well. Kagome wasn't sure what was behind the changes, but she was grateful for them; Miroku-kun was as well, it had hurt him deeply to hear and see Inuyasha abusing Kagome like he did in the beginning.

Her arrow hit Tsubaki's barrier and shattered it for the second time, while Inuyasha was attacking the yōkai under Tsubaki's control, and Kagome rebounded Tsubaki's shikigami, purifying the large fragment of the Shikon that the older miko had in her possession, courtesy of Naraku. Tsubaki fled, taking the fragment of the Shikon with her, and they gave chase, only to see the saimyōshō steal the fragment away and watch Tsubaki die of her wounds from the fight and the saimyōshō.

The fight left Kagome with mixed feelings, and she was restless, needing to listen to something that would comfort her but still express her feelings at having almost been taken over by something vile. Maybe something… She wasn't sure. So it was with deep thought that Kagome settled into her sleeping bag that evening; not to go to sleep, but to think. Miroku-kun's presence comforted her, brushing against and twining with her aura reassuringly and confidently. " _You can do this_ ," it said. " _You have already overcome so much worse today, koishi_." And she had. She'd overcome the mind control attempt, she had overcome her fear of hurting her friends, she had overcome her inability – her arrows had aimed true and her practise was bearing fruit. She rarely missed her targets any more.

So… triumphant as well. She needed something soothing, beautiful, frantic, and triumphant. What piece did she know that had all of those elements?

Oh! The full version of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture had all of those elements in it. It was exactly what she needed. She almost laughed, because she knew that anybody not strongly into classical music in her time would be confused as to what she meant by her choice; because the most well-known part of that overture was only the ending finale of triumph. But the entire song was so much more complex, although it was hardly soothing in its entirety; the beginning was soothing, before it dove into chaos and desperation and drive and triumph, and there were some soothing parts in the midst of all the rest, but overall the song was a mix of emotions, feelings, thoughts.

And that was exactly what Kagome needed today.

So she waited until it got late and Inuyasha was resting – not asleep, because Inuyasha didn't usually sleep through the night and besides, Kagome wanted to be open about her relationship with Miroku-kun, not keep hiding it like they had in the beginning – and then left the camp, her aura brushing against Miroku-kun's on the way out. Sure enough, he followed her, and as soon as he arrived she was displaced from her spot and pulled into his lap – as usual, which made her giggle until he kissed her. His kisses felt so _good_ , she thought, before he pulled away.

"I'm so proud of you, koishi. You fought and won against someone with so much more experience than you have. You're progressing so nicely, you're so strong, and your will is so bright and beautiful; just as you are."

She blushed at the praise he gave her, at his pride in her, before stating, "Today's song is… well..."

She tried to think of a single word to express what this song was, floundering until Miroku-kun said, "Going to be perfect for the occasion, as all your song choices are."

Kagome smiled sweetly at him and allowed his words to reassure her. "If you insist, so it must be."

He smiled back at her and commented, "Of course I insist."

That made her giggle again, and he kissed her again, before she put the earbuds into their ears, and then the word she was looking for hit her. "Complex. That is the word I was looking for. Complex, just as today was. Soothing, because I need to be soothed. Frantic, because I was feeling frantic whilst fighting for my sanity. Triumphant because I won, I succeeded, in so many ways today."

He nodded solemnly at her and she pressed play.

* * *

Kagome-chan was clearly divided and torn about what she wanted to listen to tonight, so Miroku reassured her as she debated on what her choice of song would be. When she finally made the decision her aura was laced with calm contentment, and he wondered what could accurately express her feelings about today. Because surely they were mixed and disparate, as she had gone through so much.

When she left the camp, he followed her call.

As he flirted with her she relaxed more, and he was pleased that he could do that to her, that it was _Miroku_ who could comfort and relax her when she was feeling anxious, worried, or confused.

So she played her music, which she told him was called 1812 Overture and composed by someone called Tchaikovsky, and the first notes to enter into his ear were a soothing balm of solemnity. He relaxed against the tree they were sitting against as the strings filled his ear, and he smiled softly. _She needed to be soothed and reassured about what happened today_.

He did too, honestly.

Then horns came in, adding depth to the soothing strings, and the chorus of music became softly, quietly triumphant, before the music darkened and became a vivid chase, a wild thrill, desperate and determined. Horns and strings and drums combined to make a whole that achingly expressed Kagome-chan's fight against Tsubaki.

And then triumph filled his ears – a rough, insistent triumph, rather than a solemn one as had come before. Then the song dipped once more into desperation and willpower. Drive to fight, drive to succeed, drive to overcome. Kagome-chan _had_ overcome.

And the song showed that as the triumph returned amidst the chaos – when Kikyō had come and warned Tsubaki against going against Kagome-chan this must have been how she felt. Then it was back to the fight, and back to the triumph intermingled with the fight, expressing with clarity how she had felt before the strains of sound became more soothing and softer once again. Miroku understood clearly why Kagome-chan had picked this particular piece of music, and as he had told her it would be, it was perfect; just what they needed.

The soothing sounds dipped into a light, teasing battle; Kagome's determination and pleasure at Miroku's confidence shining through.

Then came the harsher battle once more, those sounds of overcoming will sparkling throughout it before the desperation came back, nipping at the heels of the strings and the horns before determined triumph came back.

The soothing tune entered back again once more, and Miroku was pleased – this would help Kagome-chan heal very well indeed from her experiences.

Despite all the repetition in this song, it did not sound or feel repetitious, it felt… natural, for the song to develop like so.

Triumph came back in, this time more fiercely than before, and the song was filled with and ended with the triumph.

"That was beautiful, precious," he said when it ended. "Thank you for sharing it with me."

Her smile was vivid and glorious.


	11. Love Story

**Love Story – Francis Lai**

Miroku sat against a tree next to Kagome-chan and sighed softly as the beautiful music in his ears pulled at the strings of his heart. This piece was achingly expressive, and made him feel as if he were falling in love with Kagome-chan all over again.

He was there, now; he had fallen, and she had caught him, buoyed him up against the wind driving him onwards, and just as surely as she had caught him in his fall, he was in love with her now. He hadn't told Kagome-chan yet – she needed to be the first one to express such a thing, so that she would not feel uncomfortable or upset that her feelings were not as strong as his yet, but he suspected that she already knew, from how insistently she had wanted to listen to this piece of music, despite it being midday. Inuyasha was out hunting for food for their lunch right now, and Kagome-chan had taken the opportunity to manhandle him into listening to another song with her – well, not really manhandle him, as Miroku was _always_ willing to listen to anything Kagome-chan wanted to listen to, but even so.

Her insistence had been utterly adorable and amusing.

Still, they _always_ seemed to feel the same about any song she had him listen to, so he wondered if this might be a veiled confession from her to him – did she return his feelings fully? Was she as in over her head as he was? He could only hope with all of his heart that this was the case, because he desperately wanted to hear her tell him she loved him and know that every word she spoke whispered " _I am so in love with you that it aches, Miroku_."

The song ended and Kagome-chan gently leaned against his arm, her head resting on his shoulder as she sighed and said softly, "This song is called "Love Story". It… It's how I've felt about you for several days now."

She laughed softly and shook her head lightly, as hope coursed through him, soared through him. "It's less scary to admit that you're in love if you can express that you are in love without saying it directly at first; or at least, it happened to be so for me. I only had the courage because you never hide yourself from me…"

He smiled at her and tilted her head up for a soft kiss, "I never do, I never will. I love you so much, Kagome-chan, I am so in love with you that it hurts, just as this song was so beautiful that it hurt."

Her returned smile was shy and filled with relief. It must have been scary for her to admit her feelings, not only to herself but to him as well, and he was _so proud_ of her for gathering her courage to admit this – especially considering that Inuyasha could be back at any time, and whilst Inuyasha was most definitely not blind like he sometimes acted and was aware that there was a romance developing between Kagome-chan and Miroku, they tried not to shove it into his face, because of his own tangled emotions and unhealthy relationship with Kikyō.

So he kissed her again, whispering against her lips, "I am so proud of you, precious. Thank you; for the song, for your feelings, for yourself. You give me so much, and I will never, ever, discard the gifts you have given to me, koishi."

She clung to him and mumbled against his mouth, "I'm not the only one who gave gifts. You mean more to me than I have words to express. Love you so much."

He held her close and kissed her hair, basking in joy from her love.


	12. Winter

**A/N:** Since my internet has been thoroughly fucking up for several days now, I'm not going to risk it cutting out tomorrow; you get two chapters today, since I am away from home and have access to working internet. This might happen again next week, if my internet is still screwing up by then.

* * *

 **Winter – Vivaldi**

Tessaiga is stronger now, having the ability to cut through barriers, and the group has learned more about Naraku and his self before he became Naraku. Onigumo was desperately in love with Kikyō and Kagome contemplates this as she watches the snow falling around them. _I don't have any music that accurately portrays my feelings about the love that Onigumo had for Kikyō, and I need to stop thinking about this. Today is the day I promised to listen to "Winter" with Miroku, though, and that should distract me from thinking about twisted, fucked up love nicely_.

They make camp in a small cave, and Kagome sighs as she watches Inuyasha stomping around outside their camp, looking for firewood with Shippō-kun. Inuyasha has been in a pensive mood lately after finding out about Onigumo, and she almost wishes to share some of her music with him to distract him from it, but she knows it would be useless. Music doesn't speak to him the way it speaks to Miroku and her, it wouldn't soothe his soul or make things any easier on him.

It's yet another reason she is glad that she fell for Miroku instead of Inuyasha; she couldn't be with someone who couldn't share her deepest feelings.

So while Inuyasha and Shippō travel further afield, she beckons to Miroku, who immediately pulls her into his lap. He has become more open about touching her where Inuyasha can see them, since Inuyasha has lessened his abuse of her person – he is no longer worried that the abuse will strengthen because Inuyasha is upset over Kagome not being in love with him. And it hasn't. Inuyasha seems to quietly accept their relationship, focusing more on Kikyō and trying to mend things with the undead miko. Kikyō truly does love Inuyasha, deep down, as seen by how hard she is working on trying to end Naraku from her own side of things. Kagome thinks that they will have to work together to end him, and isn't sure _what_ to do about the situation – when she completes the jewel should she wish Kikyō back to life with it? It would be the kind thing to do, but would it be a selfish wish because she is doing it to make her friend happy? Kagome can't make a selfish wish on the jewel, and Inuyasha has confided in her that he no longer wants to use the jewel to make a wish for himself – he realises what a burden an unselfish wish is.

Miroku brushes her hair out of her face and trails his hand down to her cheek, pulling her out of her thoughts. His aura is brushing against hers worriedly, and his eyes are concerned, beautiful aubergine laced with slight frustration and a need to help. "Kagome?"

She kisses him softly, before resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. My thoughts ran away with me. It's this whole mess – Onigumo and Kikyō and Inuyasha and the jewel and making an unselfish wish – it's just… all so difficult."

Miroku kisses her forehead lightly, and wraps his arms around her tightly. The action makes her relax into him, and she pulls out her mp3 player. "Here, this will distract me, although it is hardly a restful piece of music, I think it will still help. The striking beauty and the snow and you… It'll help."

He smiles gently at her and nods, and she arranges the earbuds before resting her head back on his shoulder, allowing the strings to pull her away from her depressing thoughts and into something more vivid and beautiful.

* * *

Kagome (ever since they confessed their deepened love for each other the suffixes are gone, replaced by a soft intimacy when they say each other's names) has been thoughtful lately. More than thoughtful, really. Distracted, depressed, and disillusioned. Miroku largely blames Naraku for her rapid mood swing, and the fact that she doesn't have any music with her to express how she feels about the situation is only making things worse.

Still, today is the first snowfall of the year, and he is hopeful that the piece of winter music she promised to listen to with him will distract her from her pensive mood and ease the burden on her heart. She gets lost in thought once more before she decides to play the music, and her comment on her thoughts does nothing to ease his worry. She has such a large burden upon her shoulders, and he can do nothing to ease it. They have talked about her wish, and she is so torn over it – on the one hand, they both know that simply wishing the jewel out of existence would be the best thing to do, but on the other hand, Kagome wants her friends to be happy more than anything else, and Inuyasha would be more than happy if she wished Kikyō back to life.

A moon ago, Miroku would have told her not to think about Inuyasha's happiness, because Inuyasha treated her like trash, but the hanyō has changed, gentled, and treats Kagome with more respect than he used to treat her with. Ah, now _Miroku_ is the one thinking these thoughts. Kagome tidily distracts him with her music, and he listens intently as the song flows into his ear. He watches the snow falling down, and muses that the beginning of this is definitely not restful, just as Kagome warned him. But it is still beautiful, he thinks; in a desolate, icy manner, which is fitting for the season outside.

Shippō-kun comes back inside with an armful of sticks and twigs as the music heightens and changes, becoming more of a chorus of beauty and rapid-falling snow. The kit smiles to see them, and waves, before heading back outside, followed by Inuyasha's entrance into the cave with his own armful of thick branches and good, dry wood. The hanyō glances at them and tilts his head at Miroku before walking back out of the cave. The music crashes over as he leaves, beautiful strings played at incredible speed and with an intense depth. It weaves in and out between speed and slowness, a single instrument intermixing and intermingling with a chorus of other strings for quite some time before it slows down to a desolate beauty once more, the single instrument playing the main tune being hauntingly gorgeous.

Kagome has relaxed into him now, her fingers tapping out the notes being played upon his arm with a familiarity that comes from having listened to a song more times than one can count. Her tapping is comforting rather than distracting, though, keeping beat to the tune playing into his ear, as he watches the snow fall and listens to the rising chorus.

The song reminds him even more of falling snow now, the beauty of a sudden snowstorm that leaves one trapped – much like the storm that has caused them to take shelter in this cave. Then after some time it speeds up, becoming a blizzard instead of just a snowstorm; much like they used to experience back at his temple during the winter months.

The end comes suddenly, and without warning he is shocked out of his thoughts to look down at Kagome. Her eyes are closed, her breathing is more even and relaxed, and her body is far less tense than it was when the song began. Good; the song did what it was supposed to do. He kisses her forehead lightly and leans back against the wall of the cavern, basking in her closeness.


	13. Night on Bald Mountain

**Night on Bald Mountain – Mussorgsky**

The Shichinintai were a Kami-damned _trial_. One would think, being human, that they would be easily dealt with; but no, they are more than merely human now. They are undead, animated by Shikon shards. First it was that crazy Jakotsu in a _pink_ kimono, whom they barely dealt with before along came the poisoner, Mukotsu, who poisoned all of the human members of their group and then tried to _force_ Miroku's precious Kagome into wedding him. Miroku had never in his life thought he would be _glad_ for the presence of Sesshōmaru-sama but when he found out how the daiyōkai had saved his koishi, he was elated. She could have suffered so much without his timely interference.

And then there was Renkotsu – the human members of the group were all unconscious for the first appearance of Ginkotsu, and had not been exposed to Jakotsu for very long – who at that point made Miroku wish that Inuyasha was a little less trusting. Which was, frankly, rather hilarious, because in the beginning Inuyasha's suspicious nature had been a right annoyance to deal with. But seriously, after encountering _three_ enemies with names all ending in -kotsu, one would think that a fourth being with that ending to their name would bring about suspicion.

Miroku shuddered to think of what would have happened had they not been gotten out of that burning temple. He and Kagome would have been gone, lost, forever. Yes, they would be reincarnated, but that was no guarantee they would find each other again and not being with Kagome – not having her in his life in any way whatsoever – was unthinkable by now. He _needed_ her.

He had been reassured that the sentiment was felt on her end as well, too. It would have been torture.

It certainly wasn't helping things that their shards had been stolen; although, thankfully, Inuyasha realised that it was his own damn fault, and hadn't begun mistreating any of them or taking his anger out on them. He had mostly been sulky and sullen more than anything else, which was – well, not exactly _good_ , but was better than Inuyasha blowing up at them for something that was his fault to begin with.

And Kōga-san _also_ certainly wasn't helping things. Every time he came around it stressed Kagome out more and more – he had stopped claiming her as his, but despite her _clearly_ being in a relationship with Miroku, Kōga-san insisted on continuing to flirt with her. Most women would find that flattering; but Kagome, his wonderful, beautiful, precious miko, was humble to her core and did not like the added pressure of a suitor who couldn't respect her boundaries, even if he was kind and flattering to her. It _wa_ _s_ incredibly pleasing that she accepted and even enjoyed such treatment from Miroku himself, however. Then again, Kōga-san was just a suitor trying to gain her attention, Miroku was actively _courting_ her and _in a relationship_ with her.

Still, Kagome's aura had been incredibly agitated as of late; frightened, worried, angry, indecisive. She'd picked out a song for them to listen to – he saw her finally stop fiddling around with her music player earlier today, and wondered what choice she had made. Hopefully it would purge some of her emotions – although he knew that for the both of them, purging unpleasant emotions meant listening to less than pleasant music, so tonight might just be another two-song night, depending on her choice.

* * *

Kagome's life lately had just been one damn thing after another. First she got poisoned, and strangled in an attempt to knock her out since she was fighting the poison, just so some disgusting creep could try to force her to marry him – and consummate that marriage, which haunted her mind even now. The mere _idea_ just… Kagome had been sticking closer to her Miroku as of late than she ever had before, and even Inuyasha hadn't grumbled whatsoever – in his own way, he understood her trauma and was trying to support her healing from it. He had really come a long way.

Then she was almost _burned alive_ , along with Miroku and Sango-chan. Kirara and Shippō-kun were safe during this whole set of fiascos – so was Inuyasha, at least relatively anyway – so Kagome wasn't worried as much about them, although she still _wa_ _s_ worried. She made sure to spend extra time with Shippō-kun; not just for making sure he was okay, but to reassure him that he did not lose his only parent yet again. She had even been allowing him to sit in on her private training sessions with Miroku.

Another reason why Kagome had been sticking close to Miroku was because of Kōga-kun. She liked him, really she did, but… Kōga-kun was _definitely_ not respecting her wishes. He was actively chasing after her even though she was very, _very_ openly with Miroku. It was frustrating and embarrassing. Especially because he was _still_ treating her like a damn _object_!

She was tempted to zap him the next time he flirted with her, she really was, because anything that _ma_ _d_ _e it stop_ could only be a good thing. Kagome only wanted _one_ person to be flirting with her, and that was _Miroku_ , because he saw her for herself, loved her for herself, was _in love_ with her for herself. He was her best friend and most important person. Nobody understood her, _g_ _o_ _t_ her, like Miroku did. They had such a deep connection, bound together by the music she adored – and by so many other things she couldn't even begin to count them.

Still, Kagome would be purging herself tonight – a double purge. One to express her terror and fear at what might have happened, and one to soothe her soul and remind her that everything was okay now. It wouldn't be okay for long; their life was simply just full of being attacked right now, with the Shichinintai in the picture chasing after them at Naraku's behest. But for now, there was peace.

* * *

Miroku followed Kagome out of the camp late that night; they weren't trying to hide their friendship – well _relationship_ , now – any more, but these moments of music between them felt better in privacy, even if it was only relative privacy.

As he pulled Kagome into his lap, he asked her, "Will there be two tonight?"

She looked up at him with slight surprise, then chuckled, "Was it that obvious?"

He caressed her cheek gently, "Only to me. Always to me."

She smiled softly at him and said, "This first song is called "Night on Bald Mountain", and it's… Dark. Heavy. Terrifying. It will purge the fear and disgust."

All things that he knew she was feeling at the moment – good, this piece of music would purge those emotions from her even as it brought them about in her. So he waited patiently for her to put in their earpieces and listened as the first strains of music hit his ear. His first thought was a chill down his back, coupled with, _S_ _he's right. This is rather terrifying, dark, and heavy._ _Not as bad as the Naraku song –_ _which is admittedly only so_ _unpleasant_ _because of the connotations –_ _but still frightening_.

The music weighed upon him, strings and horns played in fast, deep tones, bringing about the feeling as if he had been aware during his time inside of the fire at the temple. And it continued on and on like that, every single note inspiring more fear, more fright, more devouring, overpowering, heavy horror.

The parts that sounded almost triumphant now somehow just made the entire piece _worse_. Not that it was unpleasant to listen to; in its own way it was striking and beautiful, but it was a macabre beauty. A dark, deadly, dangerous beauty.

He listened to the song, lost in the emotions it brought upon him; it was rather relieving to have these things being so forcibly pulled from him and purged from him. Since he had not been aware of the experience when it happened, it seemed to only make the lingering worry, terror, and fear all that much worse. Miroku wasn't feeling the same disgust as Kagome was – _he_ hadn't been the one who was almost unwillingly forced into marriage after all – but he could see why this would rip it out of her.

Suddenly the music was almost gentle, in a way that was an enormous relief. Clearly the "Night" part of the song was over now, and he relaxed, Kagome relaxing alongside of him with a shaky sigh. Now onto the comfort.


	14. Canon in D Major

**Canon in D Major – Pachelbel**

Kagome sighed shakily as "Night on Bald Mountain" finally ended. She felt better now; all those tumultuous unpleasant emotions having been forced out of her. Still, she needed to be soothed and so she pulled up Pachelbel's "Canon in D Major". It was one of the most beautiful songs she knew, soothing and soft and stunning in its entirety. She had at least five different versions of the song to listen to; it was covered in so many different ways. Tonight would be a more traditional symphonic string version though – the piano versions were all stunning but not… _full_ enough, to drive away the last vestiges of lingering terror. Guitars wouldn't cut it either, or horns. It had to be strings.

She pressed play and relaxed into Miroku – who was playing with her hair right now – as the sound washed over her. _Yes, this is_ _just_ _what I needed._

A symphony of light to combat the darkness in her heart.

* * *

Kagome was selecting her new song and Miroku caressed through her hair idly as he waited for the song to come up, listening intently once it was ready and she told him its name.

This new song was apparently called "Canon in D Major" and it was light, soft, and airy. So many strings were being played in so many different ways, and there were unfamiliar – but somehow comforting – sounds mixed in with the string instruments. They were probably string instruments played in a different way than using a "bow" to play them, most likely. (By now, Kagome had explained everything she could think of about the music she adored so that Miroku would be able to listen to it with a more discerning ear.)

The music livened, becoming a more hearty sound of light and happiness, before softening and quieting once more, a different sort of quietness. It still wasn't as airy as it had been to begin with, but it was gentler than the previous tone; before it filled out again and swelled in a chorus of strengthening sound.

This was exactly what they needed. It was stunningly gorgeous – _just like my Kagome_ – and sweet. Beauty composed by sound. The chorus was rising even more now, strong and almost – but not quite – triumphant. Instead of triumph it was more like joy.

The song ended and he kissed Kagome softly, smiling down at her as she relaxed into his body. "Thank you, koishi. We needed that."

Because it was every last bit as important – if not more so – for her to take care of her own needs, to purge herself, as it was for her to help him, cleanse him, purge him, with her music. They had _both_ needed this terribly badly after the trauma of the past few days.

Miroku was not about to let his precious one get away with not taking care of herself, after all. She deserved better than that, and she was well aware that he felt that way – and felt that way herself. He was so proud of her growth; Kagome in the beginning hadn't been like this, so intent on taking care of her own needs. She had always placed the needs of everybody around her in front of what she needed or desired out of life, and so it was most pleasant to see that she was now as intent on caring for herself as she was intent on taking care of those around her.

He kissed her again and they sat in the still, cold night air for a few moments until departing back to camp before Inuyasha got too worried about them.


	15. Adagio for Strings

**Adagio for Strings – Samuel Barber**

The last few encounters with the Shichinintai had been less stressful than their first encounters with them were, thankfully. Still unpleasant and distasteful, but less terror-inducing.

Kagome was pondering this and thinking _hard_ about what was bothering her at the moment. What was bothering her was that she was becoming so very _inured_ to life in the Sengoku Jidai. Kagome wasn't as innocent, hopeful, or convinced that everyone had good in them as she had been in the beginning, and she was wondering if that was a good thing or not. Well, clearly, for her _sanity_ it was a good thing – if she hadn't been becoming used to all this violence and trauma she would be going mad right about now – but was it good for her _heart_?

She wasn't sure, and that was beginning to wear on her. What else was wearing on her was that her emotions were so damn mixed towards the situation that nothing she listened to was soothing her. Miroku knew what was going on, and his aura was constantly reassuring and supporting her, which was nice, but still didn't _fix_ the problem; he knew that, too, which meant that her love was displeased by the situation almost as much as she was.

Neither of them were happy campers, and the fact that Naraku was hiding behind the barrier on Mt. Hakurei – at least, that seemed the only conceivable place for him to be – was making things worse. Why would Saint Hakushin allow such a vile being to shelter behind his barrier of purity? What on earth could be going on that they were missing from the picture?

Finally, Kagome decided to risk crying after all – despite not being able to purge herself of her feelings, that had been in large part due to her hesitancy in deciding to listen to the piece of music that would wring these emotions from her and get rid of the dissonance she was currently experiencing and feeling. Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" almost always made her cry, it was so beautifully sad, so achingly symphonic and stunning. It was pure and soft and sweetly depressing, gently pressuring the person listening to it to just let everything out. Kagome had always resonated with that purity before now, but now that she was losing the pieces of her emotions that had previously kept her more innocent she thought that the lack of resonation would just make her cry harder.

Kagome realised that just because her emotional innocence was lost did not mean she was any less pure, not really; it just meant she was seeing the world as it really was. But it still was something difficult to come to grips with and to accept. It was something she had to grieve, and Kagome did not _like_ grief. She hated it, in fact.

Sighing, she grabbed her mp3 player and beckoned to Miroku. Might as well get this over with.

* * *

Kagome had been… Depressed wasn't exactly the right word for Kagome's mood as of late, but it was the word that came closest. It was a mixture of thoughtfulness, distance, and sadness. Miroku understood why – Kagome was worrying over how much and in how many ways she had changed since she began her adventures here. She hadn't hidden any of her thoughts from him, but she seemed very much loathe to purge this time around, rather than eager. Miroku rather thought that it was because, while Kagome was a very emotionally open person, she was still hesitant to do some things, and crying was one of those things. For all her open emotions, tears were something Kagome tried to allow as little as possible of into her life. She thoroughly detested them, regardless of the emotion behind them and whether it was positive or negative. Miroku was trying to work on her dislike but it was not by any means an easy process.

Miroku thought that the only way she would be able to come to grips with her new emotional maturity was to grieve the loss of her previous emotional innocence, and that would be difficult for anyone to do, but especially for Kagome to do. Kagome did not like to grieve at all.

When she got up that night and called for him, he was relieved; she had finally decided to get this over with. It would be good for her, although it would still be difficult.

"This is called "Adagio for Strings," by Samuel Barber."

She said that as he settled her into his lap, and he nodded. This song title said nothing about what the content would be like, unlike most of her previous song titles. Still, he could guess the content from her mood. This would be a _very_ sad song.

He was right, he mused, as the song began to play. It was painfully beautiful, aching and raw and leaking. It did not take long for Kagome to begin crying, as a sense of loss pervaded him. The song was so sad that Miroku himself almost felt like crying, just from how overwhelming loss was saturating the music. Kagome felt like this, felt a sense of loss so keen that it was almost killing her inside.

He held her close to him and kissed the trails of tears on her cheeks, just supporting her while she grieved for the loss of her mental innocence, while she grieved the death of whatever part of her had kept her so emotionally pure.

When the song finished, she was shriven, absolved, cleansed. She was still sad, but no longer so torn and no longer wondering about the nature of things and whether they were good or not. She had accepted her loss, accepted that things had to be this way in the end, and accepted that it did not make her less of a good person just because she was disillusioned about the nature of life around her.

Kagome would forge her path onwards from now on with a stronger sense of self.


	16. River Flows In You

**River Flows in You – Yiruma**

Kagome needed something _light_. Something _sweet_. Something _beautiful_. Something that absolutely did  not reflect her actual mental state right now, because right now she was pretty damn terrified. She _would_ say that her choice to come into Mt. Hakurei with Miroku instead of letting Sango-chan come was a bad one – but it absolutely wasn't. It was the right choice to make. Kagome had distance with her bow like Sango-chan had with her hiraikotsu, and she could purify Naraku's miasma and the poison from his saimyōshō, which had been a true blessing because they had gotten surrounded and Miroku had had no _choice_ but to use his kazaana despite all the saimyōshō around. If it wasn't for her he very well might have died – or at the very least would have come _close_ to dying.

Still, they had to continue their journey to find Saint Hakushin; which meant staying the night inside of Mt. Hakurei, where they knew damn well that Naraku was hiding. Kagome had a strong barrier around them, one so strong that anything that tried to get in would be bounced off and purified on touch. Despite knowing this, however, Kagome was still pretty frightened. How could she not be? They knew that Naraku was in here some place and they knew that they would eventually be fighting not only him but all the hordes of yōkai that would be converging on the mountain when the barrier was taken down – of course, they _also_ knew that they would win every single fight they fought, but even so. It would be a tiring battle to fight to get out of here.

Still… What piece of music did she have that would suit to make her feel soft and light and beautiful? Oh, that was a good idea. "River Flows in You" by Yiruma. It was another modern classical piece that she had found by chance and fallen in love with.

* * *

Kagome was feeling as frightened as Miroku was – if not more so. When he'd had to absorb so many saimyōshō that he had almost been killed, she had been terrified at how he might have died without her presence with him. He was incredibly glad that Kagome had insisted on coming with him instead of Sango-san like Inuyasha had originally planned. He could have _died_ and then she would have been left all alone without him.

The idea was most unpleasant.

When she decided to listen to some music before they bedded down he had been pleased – surely whatever piece she selected would be peaceful and soothing to combat their fear.

And it was. "River Flows in You" was soothing and restful, beautiful and soft and sweet.

The piano was slow to start with, almost, but not quite, sad, before it sped up and became a chorus of lightness and happiness. It slowed for a short time and sped up again, becoming lighter and more fulfilling, with a soft sense of purpose to the tone that spoke a little of their necessity of being here, where they were tonight. Then it slowed again, light and airy and gentle, the piece ending on a few sweet notes that made his heart warm even as he was sad to have the music end.

"That was just what I needed to hear, koishi."

She smiled sweetly at him, saying "Me too. Now let's sleep while we have the chance. Tomorrow is a new day with new trials. No doubt Inuyasha is trying to get into the mountain as we speak."

He laughed, because it was true – the hanyō was impatient and wanted this fight to be over with.


	17. Isle of the Dead

**Isle of the Dead – Rachmaninov**

The battle inside of Mt. Hakurei-turned-into-Naraku had been… difficult. Annoying and frustrating and heavy with potential death. And Naraku seemed to have killed Kikyō – but Kagome does not feel like she did before her soul was mutilated to bring Kikyō back to life, which she tells Inuyasha about even though she might just be getting his hopes up, and she tells him this as well. He is still grateful for her admission, leading Kagome to smile weakly at him and decide that she needs _t_ _hree_ songs to listen to tonight. Two to express her thoughts about the battles and one to express her feelings on Kikyō and Inuyasha's seemingly-doomed relationship.

The fight with Naraku was incredibly dangerous to them all. Inuyasha had been badly injured and almost swallowed up by Naraku's tentacles, Sango-chan and Kōga-kun, along with Kirara and Shippō-kun, had been led into a trap as well as Kagome and Miroku. Inuyasha's Wind Scar had almost killed all of them before Kagome managed to shoot a ki arrow at Naraku and stopped his transformed body from bouncing back the attack, as well as injured him greatly. That caused Naraku to collapse the inside of the mountain on them all – Kagome did not think that that was as intentional as it had seemed; the amount of ki she could pour into her arrows as getting to be slightly absurd. Shippō-kun had gotten himself and Kagome out, while Miroku rode on Kirara with Sango-chan, and Inuyasha had gotten Kōga-kun out.

Inuyasha had tried to blame Sesshōmaru-sama about Kikyō's death; even though Naraku had clearly taken credit with the supposed death. Kagome knew that it was just due to grief though, so she hadn't complained at or chided him – Sesshōmaru-sama didn't care about useless and false accusations, after all.

She isn't sure yet what to make of Miroku's theory that he presented to her upon hearing that Kikyō had supposedly died; his theory was that she might not be Kikyō's reincarnation after all – firstly, he had explained to her, they are so different from each other that it goes beyond just nature or nurture; their differences cannot simply be explained away by her being raised in a different time period. Secondly, according to Miroku, there is usually far less time between reincarnation than five hundred and fifty years; according to him it is usually closer to around fifty years between different lives, which means that even if she _is_ Kikyō's reincarnation she is by no means the first. Not to mention that she doesn't even have reiryoku; her miko powers are entirely given to her by the Shikon and from no other source.

Kagome secretly hopes he is right, even though she no longer feels inferior to Kikyō – if she isn't Kikyō's reincarnation then it makes even more sense that she was able to cut off her feelings for Inuyasha so easily.

When she asks him about the whole resurrection thing he tells her that it is entirely conceivable that Kikyō's soul tagged along with the Shikon when it was burned with her body, and that Kagome's soul – being so intrinsically linked to the Shikon – would simply be holding Kikyō's soul in her clay body.

It makes a surprising amount of sense; especially because Kagome would have _changed_ if her soul was split into two, and whatever was used to give Kikyō emotions would have been pulled from Kagome. Considering that Kikyō is more than just a clay doll filled with anger, rage, and hate – she obviously loves Inuyasha after all – Kagome would be missing emotions from herself. And she clearly isn't.

It all makes a disturbing amount of sense, really.

Still, now isn't the time to think about it. Now is the time to leave the camp and listen to some music with Miroku.

* * *

Miroku was glad that Kagome was dealing with the latest battle so well. She had not even needed to recover from it, and he felt that the only song she would choose tonight would express her feelings about the battle – she did not need to be soothed after it this time around. He was so proud of his beautiful little miko; she was strong, powerful, and indomitable. Her will shone bright and burned throughout her body, driving her onwards; will to survive, will to fight, will to defeat, will to cleanse the world of evil.

After their escape he had finally confessed the theory that had been simmering in the back of his mind for several moons now; Miroku simply _could_ _not_ believe that Kagome was Kikyō's reincarnation. They were too different in every single way possible. It took a while for him to fully firm up his thoughts into a comprehensible whole, and even more time before he felt he could broach the topic to Kagome – Kikyō's not-death was the perfect time, and Kagome had accepted his theories with a simmering relief. She had never wanted to be a reflection of somebody else; Kagome only wanted to be _herself_. And that self was perfect; beautiful, sweet, kind, volatile, open, honest, friendly, accepting, determined, and changing in ways which made her even more beautiful and perfect. Miroku never thought that it was possible to fall in love more than once with the same person; but every time she took a new step, grew in some new way, he fell even deeper.

However, her aura was mixed when she called for him that night, and he wondered if there would be two songs tonight after all – she had told him about her feelings about the romance between Inuyasha and Kikyō; maybe she had a piece of music that would express the things she was finding difficulty trying to describe with words?

So, once she was in his lap and relaxing against him, playing with his lengthening ponytail, he asked her, "Did you have two pieces for tonight after all?"

She blinked and looked up at him with a confused look, "After all?"

He chuckled and nodded, "You clearly did not need a song of recovery from expression of your feelings about the battle, but your aura is divided in a way that suggests that you have something else that needs to be expressed; am I correct in thinking that you found something to express your feelings about Inuyasha and Kikyō?"

Her smile was sweet and melted his heart. "You know me far too well, Roku."

The sudden nickname made him blink, before he smiled slowly and refused to resist the urge to kiss her. "'Good', am I?"

She giggled cutely against his mouth, "More than good. Perfect. Wonderful. Understanding. You know my soul even better than I do."

And that was as good as an admission that she believed his theory; he was glad of it. Kagome did not need to believe herself to just be a substitute for someone else. She was too vibrant, vivid, and vivacious to be a reflection of Kikyō.

She continued with, "Yes, I found the song I needed to show my heart's feelings about their relationship. I'll tell you more about it when it is time to play it. I have two songs to represent the battle against Naraku, though; the first is before the battle, and the second is the battle itself. The song I chose to represent what came before our battle with Naraku is called "Isle of the Dead" by Rachmaninov."

The song name was incredibly suitable, considering the circumstances. He could expect this song to be another dark and heavy song then.

His first instinct was that the song was quiet. _Too quiet. This song must be incredibly dark to be so quiet._

Then more strings came in and the strains of music in his ears began slowly – ever so slowly – strengthening in their tones. Horns came in, added depth to the strings, and still the song strengthened and deepened; so, so incredibly slowly. It almost sounded triumphant but it was a dark sort of triumph. Twisted, somehow.

It sped up, rapidly, and then slowed again once more. It was a feeling of trepidation, of waiting for the end to come, and the horns sped up for a moment, little trills that shook him, deep down, while the strings continued their quiet, slow, twisted triumph.

The horns came in stronger, whilst higher strings added tension to the music. _This is going to be a long piece. As long as our night in Naraku's_ _caverns_.

They had not slept much or well that night.

The strings began a series of sweet, high notes that just made the lower strings and horns sound more twisted. It was as beautiful as it was dark.

It was not nearly as dark as he expected yet though, and just as he thought that, the music became beautiful and stunning and gloriously sweet, before suddenly dipping into a light frenzy. _Our fight against Kagura and the saimyōshō. The knowledge that we could beat her, but not knowing at what cost._

The chorus strengthened, and he was in the midst of battle, fighting for his life, _knowing_ they would win but not knowing what the consequences to their winning would be.

And there was triumph again, the defeat and knowing what the cost had been. Him risking his life – and suddenly noise was everywhere in a frenetic frenzy for just a few moments before it slowed down once more.

 _As usual, her piece of music is incredibly apt and suitable_.

It became too quiet again. Then the horns were upon them, suddenly and with no warning, strings backing them up in a dark and deep tone before the high notes started up once more. This entire piece was filled with the darkness of not knowing what they would be up against but knowing, without fail, that they would win, that they had no choice but to win their battles. The notes were beautiful once again, triumphant – Kagome purifying his damage and knowing that the risk had been worth it, so _very_ worth it.

He probably would have died if Sango-san had come in with him instead of Kagome.

Now the darkness was back, the triumph was twisted – lasting through that eternal-seeming night inside of Mt. Hakurei.

It was a battle once more – and then blasting horns and resounding strings coursed through the song, before it softened once more, and almost immediately began a crescendo of sound. They fought so many enemies in order to get to Saint Hakushin and when they found him – the chorus became dark. Thrilling.

Near-silence. The reasoning behind Saint Hakushin's harbouring Naraku had left them stunned speechless, and this was what it was like, the horror of their new-found knowledge, even as a single string instrument began another tune, replaced by a horn.

Now it was the bargain attempt. Trying, and failing, to get him to see sense. To see that he was being tricked, in an attempt to not have to fight the mummified saint.

Hopelessness was the tone now; he wouldn't see reason, even though they tried their hardest.

The chorus strengthened once more for a short time; their last attempt, before realising they would have to force the barrier to recede. And then there was quietness again. They had succeeded.


	18. Egmont Overture

**Egmont Overture – Beethoven**

Kagome sighed and relaxed against Miroku. "Isle of the Dead" was nothing like as dark as "Night on Bald Mountain" or "Requiem for a Dream" but it was still pretty dark and heavy. In this case, however, it was less the darkness that made her choose it and more of how freakishly accurate it was in regards to their travels before they got to Naraku. Seriously, it was almost creepy how exactly it went with the pace of their journey after a certain point in the song. The next piece of music was laced with triumph even during the beginning of it, however, and that was because they had won the battle and at no point had either Miroku or Kagome believed that things would end otherwise. They had both been confident in their assurance that their group could win this fight.

Roku – who _deserved_ the nickname she had assigned to him in her mind after he posited his theory to her, damn it all – was humming thoughtfully now, and she looked up at him and kissed his jaw, before asking him what was on his mind. "Roku-mine, what are you thinking about?"

His answer didn't surprise her much, "How disturbingly accurate to the time before we confronted Naraku that song was. Is it safe to assume you picked it because of that strange occurrence?"

She nodded, "That is exactly so. It is creepily in accordance with how things went and so I felt almost as if I had no choice whatsoever excepting to listen to it tonight. It was just too perfect not to use."

He nodded back to her, understanding her feelings as he always did, and then it was all business again, "And so, this song?"

She hummed softly, "This song is called "Egmont Overture," by Beethoven. It's a little bit different to most of the thoughts I have about Naraku but that is because normally we are never certain of victory until it comes, with him, whereas this time around at least the two of us were absolutely positive that we could – and _would_ – win this battle against him. There was no doubt whatsoever in our minds that this would be a victory for us. And we did, it was a complete victory for us, and so the song is rather exalting because of that."

Her wonderful Roku kissed the tip of her nose, making her blush lightly before he rested his head upon hers. "This is true. I can't say the same went for the rest of the group but the two of us had no doubts whatsoever about our victory over that vile spider."

Kagome smiled, even though he couldn't see it, and selected the song, before pressing play.

* * *

It was almost as if they were back in the previous confrontation with Naraku once more. But despite that, the dark sounds were incredibly triumphant at first; Kagome was right, this song displayed their confidence in winning very accurately. Quiet horns came in and softened the tone, before the triumph came back in full force before the soft horns came back once more and then it was a mixture of delight and chill – the strings lacing below the delighted horns expressing the chill of the battle, whilst the horns displayed their happiness at being reunited with their comrades, their friends. All in all it perfectly displayed their feelings and emotions about that situation.

Then it was thick into the midst of battle against Naraku with all of them fighting him in whatever way they could against the evil hanyō they were battling. Speed and thrill and confidence. They could, _and would_ win this. And then came the excited terror at having Inuyasha's Wind Scar used against them, before Kagome shot Naraku. Triumph reigned now. Kagome had dealt what would have been a lethal blow to any yōkai not augmented with a nearly complete portion of the Shikon. Had Naraku been less overpowered that would simply have been the end of him, and there was no question about that. He wished that Naraku hadn't been given that shard by Kikyō because if not for that, he would undeniably be dead by now.

The entirety of the song was now laced back with the thrill of battle and their confidence and assurance that they would win this battle – this felt as if they were dodging the unintended attack from Inuyasha once more, as it dipped in and out of harsher battle, and the hard chorus came back, before dipping into Kagome's victory once more; there hadn't been as much of a battle as they had expected.

And now it was onto a victory chorus – Naraku was dealt a harsh blow from which it would take much time to recover.

Then came the excited arrangement of escaping from the collapsing caverns, over and over before stunning triumph overcame the entirety of the song, depicting their elation at having finally gotten one over on the evil spider hanyō. Kagome and Miroku had been delighted with the force of their victory, and this depicted that so accurately. It truly was a perfect piece.

He smiled down at her, tilting her head up for a lingering kiss. "Yet another apt choice, precious Kagome-mine. That was wonderful to listen to."

Her smile was as beautiful as the moon above them was, stunning in its delight. It was a wonder how accurately Kagome was able to pick out music choices that fit their situations so perfectly.

Now it was time for a different situation, however – one not their own. Miroku wondered what would be coming next, what the piece would express, and if Kagome had finally gathered the words she needed to articulate her feelings about the situation that Kikyō and Inuyasha were in. He hoped so – as much as he preferred to let his emotions speak for him, some things were best expressed verbally and this situation was one such thing. Kagome needed to _talk_ about this, not just listen to something and let her emotions do the speaking for her. Otherwise it would eat at her mind until she finally got those necessary words out.


	19. A Gift of a Thistle

**A Gift of a Thistle – James Horner**

"This is a song I wouldn't normally be aware of, although it _is_ a song of a type I love. Most, although admittedly definitely not _all_ , of the music I listen to is older than this song is; but one of my friends had me listen to it because she thought I would like it, and she was incredibly right in that."

Ayumi had watched some American film called "Braveheart," and one of the pieces of music in it had so strongly reminded her of Kagome that she had _had_ to make Kagome listen to it. Kagome had been brought almost to tears with the intense beauty, sadness, and mourning of the song, and had immediately sought out a longer version of it – the original was less than two minutes long, but she had managed to find a version by the London Symphony Orchestra that expanded it to around nine minutes long. It was mainly repetitious, but it was so stunningly gorgeous that one didn't notice the repetition much.

Her voice was slow as she explained to Miroku, and he nodded in understanding at her words. Kagome continued on slowly, articulating the things inside of her heart carefully, "Inuyasha and Kikyō… Their love was an unexpected love – a hanyō wanting the power of the miko, constantly fighting her for it, and somehow between all of this they developed deep and lasting feelings for one another. Feelings so strong that even though Kikyō was supposed to only come back with anger and hate in her… She still loves him. Yes there's that whole "drag you to hell with me" crap going on, but it is deeper than that. She checks up on him too frequently for that to be her only excuse, she cares too much and cannot help but let her care show. It always seems on the surface as if she is ready to betray him at any instant, yet she never does; she always has a plan underneath that will benefit not only her, but Inuyasha as well.

"And Inuyasha… he loves her so much that even after she shot him with a sealing arrow that kept him in stasis, almost dead, for fifty years, he can never resist her call. Whenever she beckons, he follows. He never gives up. It makes me glad that I cut off my feelings for him because surely if I had fallen in love with him it would be causing me so much internal hurt that I cannot even begin to fathom it. He… I was expecting a confrontation when he finally realised what was going on between us, but there was none. He realised, and accepted it so easily, so naturally. I think he was relieved, in a way, that he didn't have to choose between me or her any more. That the choice had been taken away from him; because just as surely as Kikyō cannot resist coming to make sure he is okay, he cannot resist checking to make sure that Kikyō is okay, that she is alive – well, as alive as she can be – and safe."

Kagome sighed softly, resting her head against Roku's shoulder. "But… Kikyō died, and Inuyasha was lost to the world, due to Naraku's machinations. And even now – Kikyō isn't alive, not really. She can't sustain herself without absorbing the souls of the dead. Soon enough her body will sustain too much damage to continue on, even with me healing her to the best of my ability, and then Inuyasha and Kikyō will be lost to one another yet again. It's all so very tragic, and overwhelmingly sad. But at the same time, their devotion to each other is beautiful, achingly so. I know that if the same thing happened to us we would be in their positions; still constantly needing to be with each other even if one of us were doomed to die."

She traced her fingers over the fabric covering his kazaana; on the one hand, they _were_ like Inuyasha and Kikyō, in a way. On the other hand, Kagome was determined that Roku would _not_ be lost to her – _ever_. Miroku laced their fingers together and squeezed her hand; he had read her determination, and appreciated it. "This song expresses their tragedy and loss and love perfectly. It's called "A Gift of a Thistle," and it's composed by James Horner. "

This song took a little more seeking to find, since she had decided on it so late that she hadn't stuck it in the impromptu playlist she had stuck "Isle of the Dead" and "Egmont Overture" on so that they could be played one after the other. But soon enough it was found, and she hit play, the achingly beautiful strings beginning to play in her ear.

* * *

Miroku was struck with an overwhelming sense of beauty and tragedy as soon as the song began to play, a flute or something like it sounding in his ears before the flute stopped – now the main instrument playing the tune was strange to him; it was clearly only one instrument but it sounded like a mixture of them being played with the odd tone it gave off. Then a flute took up the main tune once more, before the other instrument started in again; still playing the same few notes. _It is merely a repetition of before; but it sounds natural to be this way, rather than actually sounding like the tune is just repeating itself. It truly is so gorgeous and tragic though. So this is how Kagome feels about Inuyasha and Kikyō. Their tangled up relationship must make her ache very badly – she hates to see any of her friends in pain._

The song continued on like that, beauty and loss and tragedy winding together, braiding into each other and being one composite whole that was almost painful to listen to even as that pain was washed away just as it came upon you. His poor koishi – she hurt for them, for their doomed romance, for her inability to help soothe Inuyasha's pain; yes, her not chasing after him had indeed seemed to bring some relief, but there wasn't anything she could actively _do_ right now to salve the hurt he must be experiencing more than he showed any of them.

Especially because Inuyasha was not the kind of person who could be soothed by talking about his problems; he was a person of action, a person who _did_ things, and who wasn't very good with words in any manner, which made sense, considering his upbringing.

Miroku sighed as the piece finally ended, and held Kagome close to him, stroking through her hair. She was close to crying right now, and holding her tears back through sheer willpower; that was unhealthy however, and so he urged her to let it out. "Let it go, koishi. I am with you, and I will not judge you. Do not hold in your pain, express it."

It took her a little bit to fight her natural reaction to tears, but eventually she fought and won. The tears flowed and he held her close, soothing her as she cried. It was all he could do, but it was something that only _he_ could do.


	20. Bolero

**Bolero** **– Ravel**

Seriously, this was just getting ridiculous. Naraku's latest incarnation, the evil-baby-from-hell that was yet _another_ of Naraku's far-too-numerous detachments, was completely off the mark, and his choice of attack on her had no way of working. None whatsoever. Naraku clearly wasn't spying on them as much as he should be – that or he held some deeply seated beliefs that were just… ridiculously, absurdly false. There was no way that this new detachment could drive her into despair or bring darkness into her heart by going on and  on and _on_ about Kikyō and Inuyasha and how much Inuyasha loved Kikyō and how he would never love Kagome and it was just getting _tiring_ now.

Oh, apparently he had realised it wasn't working. Well, it was about damn time he tried a new method of attack.

Well, apparently Naraku just believed a bunch of crap, because this new attack was much more accurate – although, still, hilariously, completely off the mark. Kagome couldn't be brought to jealousy over Roku's lecherous behaviour, since _she_ had been the one to insist he keep his mask on until Naraku was defeated. Granted, he hadn't fussed much about it but Kagome still understood that perfectly. It was painful to open up to people you couldn't trust deeply, and for Miroku, his heart was even more important to him than his life was; so whilst he trusted their group with his life, that did not mean anything about trusting them with his heart. Kagome and Shippō-kun were the only people who got to see into his deepest depths, and it was still incredibly limited with Shippō-kun. Kagome understood his reticence, however, with regards to her son. He did not want her precious kit to lose another father figure if the worst happened and he died somehow.

It was a bit too late for that, but Shippō-kun hadn't gathered his courage to tell her Roku that just yet, and until he did, Roku would always hold himself back to an extent around her little boy.

Even so; this bullshit wasn't working. At all. In the slightest. Kagome would laugh it if wasn't so repetitive and tiring. _Go away and leave me alone. Nothing you say can work on me – you have no power over my mind or my heart, and cannot touch the ones who do have that sort of power over me because you are weak and grasping._

The infant hissed in fury at her before receding – that was suspicious; why had he given up all of a sudden?

Oh, Inuyasha was here to save the day once again! What a _relief_!

It only took a few moments for her to decide upon her piece of music for that night.

* * *

"Naraku, despite all evidence to the contrary, is probably the stupidest person _alive_ , Roku."

Miroku blinked, nonplussed and confused; Naraku was a very clever foe indeed, so what on earth would be causing words such as those to exit the mouth of his koishi?

Kagome sensed his confusion and giggled sweetly. "Naraku's latest detachment, the evil-baby-from-hell, spent the entire time whilst we were trapped trying to drive me into darkness and jealousy. The enormous majority of its attempts were focused on the relationship between _Inuyasha and Kikyō_."

He unashamedly gaped. They _all_ knew that Naraku had several methods of spying on them and used them frequently – far too frequently to have missed out on the relationship between Kagome and himself. _What in Buddha's name is going on inside of his mind_?

His precious one continued on, "At first I thought that he _had_ to be just not spying on us enough, and thought him stupid because of that, but eventually the infant got tired of trying to use _them_ and focused on _you_ and your outwards behaviour. Which, of course, didn't work considering you were perfectly willing – despite the pain it would cause you – to cease said behaviour if it meant causing my heart less hurt. However, that showed me that Naraku is a blockhead. He thought, all this time, despite _all evidence to the contrary_ , that I was still pining after Inuyasha and probably just with you for some, I don't know, ridiculously idiotic reason, one way or another."

Clearly Naraku's head was at least partially filled with rice. Overcooked rice, at that. _He underestimates everyone around him, so it is easy to believe that he would think my koishi so petty, but one would think that after initial attempts were shown not to work, his incarnation would have tried another tactic sooner rather than, if I am reading her tone right,_ _much_ _later_.

Then one of the words she used peaked his interest, and so he pried about it, "Blockhead? What does that mean, precious?"

She blinked, before laughing softly, "Of all the things… It pretty much just literally means a stupid person. Only it is more degrading than simply calling somebody stupid. It's a fairly common insult in my time."

"Ah. So, since the attempts were futile, what kind of tone does your music have tonight?"

Kagome hummed softly, cuddling closer to him. "Well, I don't really have anything _truly_ suitable; the attempts were, frankly, tiring more than anything else, and even though I  do keep around music I am not overly fond of if it is something that I know can help me get rid of negative emotions – before I came to this time I would never have kept around songs as dark as "Night on Bald Mountain" or "Requiem for a Dream," for instance; I would only have listened to them when the need arose, such as after a nightmare – I don't keep around music that I find tiring to listen to. However, following that, they were repetitious more than anything else, just the same old crap over and over again, and I do have songs that are repetitive in nature. Sometimes I need repetition, it can help me focus better because I tune out the noise once I become used to it, and that allows me to put my entire concentration on whatever task is at hand."

" _Requiem for a Dream" must be the Naraku song. That is the only song she has not yet told me the title of, and the name is unfamiliar to me_.

She continued on, "And really, the whole time I was pretty much focusing on you and how much I would have rather had _you_ in my head instead of that stupid infant in my head, so I decided that the piece I wanted to listen to would be my seventeen minute version of "Bolero," which is by Ravel."

Miroku loved how informative Kagome was with him – yes, the names of the artists (or composers, as was more frequently the case) meant next to nothing to him, as he did not know them, but the knowledge was nice to have. She did not always tell him their names, but she generally did. "Understood, koishi. You still have not told me the _tone_ , however."

That earned him a stuck out tongue and a comment of, "You'll see it when you hear it. I'm not telling you straight out. Besides, since when do you ever need to know the tone before you listen to the piece? We feel the same about all the music I listen to."

He chuckled softly and bit her tongue, which made her flush in an adorable manner. "This is true. I suppose I will just listen, then, and let the music speak for itself."

She huffed at him, rolling her eyes as she placed the earpieces into their ears, and muttered softly, "As if you have, or _want_ , any other choice."

The music was playing before he could respond to her.

The first noise was a drum, softly pattering away a beat that was somewhat rapid, before a flute came in. The melody was soft, beautiful, and somewhat yearning. As well as ever so slightly triumphant. Then the flute was replaced with an instrument that sounded similar to it but was a bit lower and had a slightly more airy tone to it. The melody changed to something different, more yearning this time around, also played by another instrument that was similar to, but different from, the earlier two. And again, there was another change of instrument, this time joined with a very quiet plucking of strings below it to add a gentle counterpoint.

Then it went back to the original melody, which was very rapid indeed. _Fifteen_ minutes was approximately a quarter of a candle mark, so this song was even longer than that; if the entire song was just this short melody repeated over and over again that was repetitious indeed. Would he tire of it? Kagome never tired of it, but even though they were incredibly similar in all the most important ways, Miroku and Kagome were not _identical_.

A horn took over the melody, and the background sounds strengthened some, and he realised he would probably not tire of it after all, if the instruments kept on changing. Despite being the same tune, it _felt_ different with each new instrument that took up the melody.

The song continued on like that; the chorus of plucked strings growing ever-so-softly beneath the instruments making up the main tune, and more instruments taking up the melody, as well as more instruments coming in to back them up.

He wondered if he could get Kagome to listen to this with him again and tell him the name of each instrument as it came up so he would be able to pick them out in the future, and was jerked out of his thoughts as suddenly an entire _group_ of instruments replaced playing the melody instead of only one or two doing so, followed shortly by the strings taking up the main tune.

It was no wonder Kagome never tired of this song; for all its repetition it was incredibly complex and varied, constantly gaining depth.

The song ended with a triumphant trill, and he smiled down at her, "That was beautiful, Kagome."

She smiled back, before leaning up to kiss him, and he discarded his thoughts. He could think _later_.


	21. Jealousy

**Jealousy (Zárlivost; Overture) – Leoš Janáček**

"Don't you ever get jealous, Kagome-chan? I know I would be dreadfully jealous, if I were in your position. Miroku-sama is so disrespectful of you!"

Kagome blinked, confused by Sango-chan's comment. "What do you mean by that? Roku is incredibly respectful of my wants and needs, and dotes on me unstintingly!"

Sango-chan waved her hand in dismissal, before saying, "I don't mean like _that_ , I mean his lecherous behaviour."

 _Oh, that. Ah, I can see why Sango-chan would think that. I should correct her assumption, though._

"Sango-chan… You have to know by now that Miroku's lecherous behaviour is, well, just a front."

The taijiya tilted her head curiously at Kagome, "I understand that he has depths he does not like to let other people see, but his behaviour seems very genuine to me."

Kagome sighed minutely. Of course it seemed genuine, because Roku didn't _care_ about Sango-chan in any deep manner and so was a pervert towards her. "Roku… Damn. Okay. When he began courting me, Miroku very genuinely offered to stop his manner of treating other women, Sango-chan. I refused his offer. He holds no deep feelings for the women he treats in such a way, or for the women who he asks to bear his children. That is _why_ he can act in such a manner towards them, Sango-chan. It would worry me more, at least until we have defeated Naraku, if he changed how he outwardly acts, unless something drastic changes the situation. We have a compromise, in that once his kazaana is gone, he will stop acting in such a way."

Sango-chan hummed thoughtfully, before she seemed to get where Kagome was coming from, "You would grow more jealous if he stopped his actions, then, because it would mean that those other women see as deeply into his heart as you do?"

She smiled softly, "Exactly. Of course, that would not actually be the case, but I am not more than human, and eventually it would eat at me, unless something happened to change the situation from how it stands right now."

It was then that the women from the village crept past their room, and with a silent glance towards each other, Kagome and Sango-chan followed them, splitting up before they headed outside; Kagome to follow the women, and Sango-chan to go fetch Inuyasha and Roku. Kagome knew without a word that Sango-chan would send Inuyasha after Kagome and then investigate the village shrine – a place which Kagome and Miroku had already warned their companions held a strange, unholy aura – with Roku.

* * *

Last night had been… unpleasant. Several of the village women had quite insistently flirted with Miroku and Inuyasha, trying to get them into their beds. Then Miroku and Sango-san had investigated the shrine and found out about the yōkai controlling all of the women in the village, getting attacked by a group of them on their way to back up Kagome and Inuyasha.

Miroku could only feel thankful that Kagome had been trying out the idea that he had suggested to her after they had been captured by humans the last time around on the women that had almost dragged her into the water in an attempt to drown her. Miroku had posited that, perhaps, since her ki was unique, she could purify the evil intent from other humans going after them; it might not work for very long, but it would give them the chance to get away. Her attempt to do so on the women attacking her had purified the yōkai eggs controlling them, and they had ceased their attack on her.

They still didn't know if his idea had any merit or not, yet, but now they knew that she could purge people of yōkai influences upon them. Kagome was eager to try it out on the beings that Kagura attacked them with using her ability to control and resurrect the dead.

Well, at least the previous night had not been _more_ than unpleasant. It had simply been trying and distasteful. If he did not know that it would only cause Kagome more worry in the end, he would be fully discarding his mask about now – it was most unpleasant to have his insincere flirtations taken seriously like that. But no; it truly would hurt him to open his heart to the others around him at this time, and might cause jealousy to take root in his precious miko, which he would not risk.

So it was with curiosity that he followed his Kagome out of the camp that night – what was on her mind that meant she needed to share a song with him? Neither of them had been seriously endangered the night before, so what was troubling her?

He was answered before he could even ask his questions. "Sango-chan… Last night she asked me how I could possibly not be jealous over your treatment of other women. It was difficult to try to explain to her without betraying your confidence, your heart, to her. I managed it in the end, but still… it got me to thinking, about how I felt with Inuyasha, before I ceased pursuing him. I searched for a long time before I found a suitable song, and it… It was so strong, so volatile, that it just was like it was wrenching the jealousy out of me with every note, only instead of purging it, it made it worse.

"Oh, by searched I meant I searched while I still had feelings for him. There are _plenty_ of  modern songs about jealousy, but I… For the most part I can't resonate and connect with modern songs unless they are instrumental. Lyrics just don't do it for me, I need to be able to have music that tugs at my heart and allows me to express my feelings without putting them into words; does that make sense?"

Miroku nodded. Kagome did better without the words because then she could let the music guide her to her true feelings, let the music _express_ her true feelings, in a way that didn't allow others to put words into her mouth for her. "The music speaks for and to you more clearly because someone else is not singing things that are imperfectly matched to your situation."

Her smile to him was filled with relief. "Yes, that is so."

Miroku hoped that he would never drive her into jealousy so strong that she had felt with Inuyasha; jealousy so strong she had felt the need to seek out a song to purge her of it, and so he asked her, because he knew she would not lie to him. "It truly does not bother you, koishi? Because you know I would give up my mask for you in a heartbeat."

She shook her head, "Not one bit, Roku-mine. I think I would grow more jealous if your behaviour stopped, and I know that as hard as it is for you to keep the mask on when people keep taking you seriously… It would be so agonisingly painful for you to be forced into opening up to everyone else."

Miroku hummed softly, before an idea came to him. "Koishi, what about a compromise? My behaviour towards women is not the _only_ part of my mask, so I would not be giving it up in its entirety… but the outwards flirtations that go beyond asking women to bear my child, the ones that make people take me seriously and bring unwanted advances… Could those be ceased without risking jealousy? I would never wish to make you jealous over me, but it is becoming tiring to fend off advances that are entirely unwanted – although please, _please_ do not risk your heart just because of that. I can, _and will_ continue to just be firm in fending off other women until Naraku is defeated."

Kagome was contemplating this seriously right now, and so he ran his fingers through her silky hair as she thought. He was willing to wait however long it took for her to make a decision – this decision was not going to be an easy one for her to make, as she knew the pain of jealousy already, and Miroku knew the pain of her previous jealousy as well. He would not have asked her at all, but…

The monk had something special to ask his precious miko from the future, and since they were together right now, tonight was the perfect opportunity; he would not ask until this had been settled, in whichever way it was settled.

She sighed, and said, "Let's listen to the song while I think about this. It might help me come to a decision more easily. It is simply called Jealousy."

So he listened with her.

The first strains in his ear were harsh, violently so, and the following strings and drums were turbulent, before the music rapidly softened into something caressing, sweet, loving, almost triumphant. Soon there were strings that kept making trills that were reminiscent of inner turmoil before the music became turbulent and tumultuous once more. Then it softened again, soft strings and little trills that were – not quite desolate or depressing, but close. Then the strings suddenly sped up and became a frothing rage once more, for just a short time, before softening into that near-desolation again. He ached to know that his most precious person had felt like this at any point in her life.

The song became almost silent, before rising into a crescendo of jealousy and frustration and then triumph came in for some reason – maybe the composer of this piece of music had gained control of their jealousy? The song ended on an unexpected blast of horns and strings, and he sighed, holding Kagome close to him. She must have hurt _so very much_.

All he could do was hope that he would not cause her the same pain again in her life.

When the song was finished, Kagome pulled him into a short kiss, and then another, and another, her kisses desperate and longing. He allowed her her release, kissing her back full of gentleness and love and acceptance.

When she finally pulled away, she buried her face against his shoulder and mumbled, "It's so hard. Now that you've offered this, part of me says to hell with the mask and wants to keep all of your flirtations for myself, but the rest of me knows how much you hurt inside and knows how painful it is to bare that kind of hurt to other people whom you do not trust, because I am the same way..."

He repeated what he said earlier, "I can still keep up a large portion of my mask, and not bare my heart, even without flirting with other women, Kagome-mine. It would do me no harm."

She pulled away from his shoulder, pulling him into another kiss, before she responded, "You have to _promise_ me that, Roku. I cannot stand the idea of you being hurt, and you are at least not being hurt at the moment, even though you are being bothered."

Miroku kissed her forehead gently, "I swear it, koishi. I would not have made the offer otherwise; I cannot stand the idea of you being hurt, and thus I know the same goes for you in regards to me."

* * *

Kagome… Kagome wished, for a moment, that this was not her decision to make. She _wasn't_ jealous – hadn't _ever_ been jealous – until Miroku broached the idea of stopping, not his entire act, but his flirtations alone. And then the ache, the wondering, began. What would it be like if he only ever flirted with, teased, cajoled, and paid strong attention to Kagome? The feeling that had filled her heart had been one of such intense longing that she could hardly bear it. She never would have even thought about it or cared about it until he brought this up, and now…

The song had only made things worse. She never, _ever_ wanted to feel like that again, and now that the idea had been put into her head she knew that she _would_ feel like that if she didn't accept what he was offering to her. But she could not – _could not_ – risk his pain. She loved him with her entire being and could not stand the idea of him being in any amount of hurt whatsoever, much less hurt caused by irrational jealousy. Kagome _knew_ that Roku could care less about anybody but her and Shippō-kun.

He wasn't lying to her though; more than that, Miroku _wanted_ this. He probably wanted this more than Kagome herself did, for some reason. She wondered if he would tell her why if she asked… That wasn't the point right now. He was waiting for her answer. "Okay. I… Yes. It, it won't make me jealous, I promise that."

He smiled a sweet, loving smile at her, and gathered her closer to him, before kissing her ear and whispering into it, "Kagome, I wish for more than nothing else but to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me when all of this is over?"

Her breath caught, and Kagome began shaking. _This was why he wanted this._

Kagome thought. Back in the beginning, she would have said that such a proposal was _far_ too early. She was fifteen, and they had only been together for a few months, but…

Kagome had matured a ridiculous amount since she began fighting this war. She didn't feel like an innocent fifteen year old any more, she was older, jaded, more serious; she was a _mother_ , she was a _warrior_ , she was a _miko_. And besides – he wasn't asking her to marry him _right now_. He was asking her to marry him once Naraku was defeated; more specifically _after_ the defeat – Kagome knew for a fact that he would wait for her for as long as she needed.

Not to mention; only a few months was more like a lifetime when you spent almost every waking hour with that person. When you were _constantly_ together. Dating in her time period was short bursts of time together that lasted a very long time because you couldn't really _know_ the person in the short amount of time you spent together. That was absolutely the opposite of what life was like living here. They knew each other incredibly intimately and incredibly well and incredibly deeply. Kagome knew that nobody else would ever know her as well as Miroku did, and the same went for him with regards to her.

 _Kami_ she wanted this _so very badly_. Her mama might or might not approve; Kagome wasn't sure, although she knew her mama _did_ approve of her relationship with Roku in general. Mama had been expecting it to happen before she even told her it was slightly possible; in fact, she had told Kagome that it was "about time" when Kagome confessed that he was courting her now. Still; like Kagome was thinking, Roku would wait for her as long as she needed. Kagome would probably wait at least until she was sixteen, possibly even seventeen, although definitely not later than that. As she had been thinking, Kagome was well past her physical age in emotional and mental maturity.

So her answer did not take long to give. "Of _course_ I will, Roku! _Of course I will_. Kami I love you so much, thank you so much, I can't-"

He laughed softly and cut her off with a kiss, before pulling back and echoing her thoughts. "I know that in your time you are too young, but I will wait as long as you need me to wait for you to be ready."

"I don't know when I'll be ready, but I knew you would wait for me."

His smile was the most beautiful thing in the world.

* * *

 **A/N:** This is the chapter in the series where Miroku proposes to Sango and his proposal is accepted by her, so it's not really too soon. Especially since this version of Kagome is much more mature than her manga counterpart is and the relationship between her and Miroku is much deeper and has a far more solid base than was ever developed with Sango.


	22. Oltremare

**Oltremare – Ludovico Einaudi**

Things had been hectic lately. First they found out that the last jewel shard was in the netherworld; then there was that whole mess with trying (and failing rather spectacularly) to find a way there; then Kagome found Kikyō, healed her, and poured so much of her ki into Kikyō that it would take something seriously enormous to cause her to come that close to death again, and let Inuyasha know that she was still (sort of) amongst the living; and then when they finally did manage to get to the netherworld (after a fiasco involving a yōkai that drained humans of their blood), Naraku managed to get the shard they were after. Tessaiga gained a new attack, however, and Sesshōmaru-sama was in fine form, managing to land a _very_ solid hit upon Naraku before he got his barrier up. That had impressed Kagome a lot; it had been most unexpected.

Kagome did manage to use the arrow that Kikyō had given her to shoot Naraku with, but knew that his sudden departure meant that she missed; especially since her Roku still had his kazaana.

The kazaana was barely any wider than it had been the night when Kagome learned how to purify the saimyōshō poison, but Roku had admitted to her, when she asked if he knew why it had stopped widening so much, that it was her very purification that was managing it. When she found that out she had immediately wanted to see if she could get rid of it entirely, but he reminded her that as long as Naraku and his saimyōshō were in the picture, they _needed_ the kazaana – and besides, it was nowhere near causing him as much danger as it had been to begin with. She had reluctantly agreed.

Tonight Kagome wasn't wanting to listen to anything reflecting any of that, however. Tonight Kagome was feeling slightly melancholy and missing her mama and family in the future. She had stopped going back to the future as often as she used to, partly because eventually she would be leaving it behind to be with Miroku, and partly because with her grades and her stupidly enormous amount of absences – she was generally gone for at least a week and a half at a time, usually longer than that – there was literally no way she would be able to attend high school. Kagome had still been holding out hope about it until her mama gently pointed that out to her.

When she had told her mama about her engagement to Roku her mama had been so very happy for her, before asking her what she intended to do about school. After all it wouldn't be fair to either if them for Kagome to have to spend most of her time in the future because of school that she wouldn't even need in order to live a fulfilling and independent life. Kagome had rather confusedly asked her mama if she even had a choice about it, before her mama had reminded her of how often she was already absent – a large majority of the time – and of how Kagome was struggling to even make passing grades. Unless Kagome wanted to repeat her final year of middle school – which she did _not_ , thank you very much – Kagome wouldn't be able to attend high school in Japan. Not even the worst of them would take someone with her amount of absences combined with her poor grades. Maybe if she only had one or the other, but both of them together? Kagome didn't stand a chance.

Surprisingly enough, that little fact of life hadn't upset Kagome as much as she had expected. The thing was… Kagome's life was _here_ now. She had a wonderful son to dote on, she had a sister to share secrets with, she had a good friend who was one of the loneliest people she had ever met, and most importantly, she had a fiancée who was her entire world. No matter how much she loved the other people in her life, she could not be happy without Miroku. It wasn't something as drastic as a situation like that his death would cause her to end her own life – for one, Roku would be _incredibly_ pissed off at her if she did something so thoughtless, and for two, she would **never** abandon Shippō like that – but it was simply that he completed her.

So it was with this melancholic mood that she called for Miroku; as usual he followed her out of the camp and to the clear spring a ways from the camp.

As soon as his arms wrapped around her she softly stated, "I miss my mama a lot right now, so my song tonight is what I feel about my family in the future, how I feel about missing them."

* * *

Miroku should have expected this, really. It had indeed been quite some time since Kagome had gone home to visit her family, and her last visit had only been for two days. So he held her tighter to him and kissed her hair, as she continued her thoughts, "This song is called "Oltremare" by Ludovico Einaudi."

She placed the earpieces into their ears and the music caressed his ears.

The piano was the only instrument, playing achingly gorgeous notes that were melancholic and moderately toned before it began to shift into higher notes, followed by little trills. The deeper counterpoint strengthened, only adding to the melancholy of the piece, before it slowed, then sped up once more, the tune changing entirely. It was so beautiful and sad – but there were happier combinations beginning to thread through the sadder notes, which rose into a chorus of happier notes with a feeling of reminiscing to them. Remembering the happy times in her life, the times before she came to his time period.

And the notes sped up into fast trills, over and over again, getting louder, before diverging into chords of sadness and happiness mixed together. Then it stopped for a moment before slowing down entirely, the gentle notes longing in their tune. Even though her life was mostly here in his time now, she still missed her mother and grandfather and little brother.

The happy trills began once more, sweet and pure and longing, before a higher tune of trills started up, repeating in a familiar sound, only sounding less melancholic due to the higher notes. The music strengthened once more and soon dipped into a deep sense of sadness, longing, and melancholy; longing so fierce it made his heart ache. Even though she loved her life here, she missed the days before time-travel had complicated her life.

The music slowed down again before finishing, playing a final set of notes that were as painful as they were beautiful.

Miroku spoke softly to his intended, "I would never force you to choose between a life with me and a life in the future, koishi."

She shook her head softly to him. "I can't continue being pulled in two directions, and besides, once the Shikon disappears it is likely that the well will cease to work for me. No; my life is here, with you and Shippō-kun. I will miss the comforts of the future, but nowhere near as much as I would miss you. Especially once we are wed – how unfair of me would it be to leave our children alone with you just to visit a family that is already growing distant, that is already getting used to my absence? We still love each other, but I need you more than I need them, and they are well aware of that. They might be _in_ the future, where I was born and raised, but you, koishi, you _are_ my future."

Hearing Kagome say that sent a warmth through Miroku, winding around his heart and embracing it. He could not ever have asked for a better partner to spend the rest of his life with. She was willing to sacrifice her entire previous life to be with him, despite the uncertainty of their future together. If they even had – no, Miroku would not go down that road. They _would_ defeat Naraku and have their life together after his defeat.

"I love you more than life itself, my wonderful, beautiful Kagome."

Her smile was radiant and intense when she leaned up to kiss him, whispering against his lips, "And I love you just as much, my perfect, wonderful Roku."

They had each other, and although sadness was not something they could banish from their lives, they could still combat it with love. It was enough.


	23. Sunrise

**The Grand Canyon Suite – Sunrise – Ferde Grofé**

Kagome was not jealous right now at the complete and utter bullshit this girl was spouting about her one-time engagement to Roku and how they had consummated it despite only knowing each other for such a short time – Kagome, instead, was _livid_. Not only did she know for a _fact_ – because she could  feel when he was lying – that Miroku had never gone past flirtations and groping with anyone (yet, anyway, Kagome knew when the right time came they would take that next step with each other), but this girl's aura was completely _leaking_ dishonesty. Normally Kagome could only feel others' auras and their emotions through them very faintly – but this girl was desperate and projecting; hard.

"Stop lying right now, Shima-san. If you don't shut up right now I will _make_ you shut up. Roku would never do such a dishonourable thing, and your aura is literally _projecting_ your dishonesty at me. If you just do not wish to marry the guardian of the lake, then say so, we will try to help anybody in a situation where they are being forced into something they are dreading. There is no reason to lie to us in order to gain our aid and frankly your lying is making me think we should allow you to clean up this mess on your own."

Inuyasha huffed behind her and muttered, "That's why she smelled off."

Sango, meanwhile, was frowning and turning from Shima to Kagome, worrying at her lower lip. "I still think we should help…"

She nodded firmly, "I said we _should_ allow her to deal with this mess on her own. She clearly can not do so, however, so of course we will help. But not until she apologises for dragging someone into the dirt in order to escape from her problems."

Shima apologised and the shame colouring her aura was enough for Kagome to honestly accept the apology instead of grudgingly accepting it, and then they went to confront the guardian of the lake in order to attempt to bargain with him.

* * *

The so-called lake guardian that the village girl he didn't even _remember_ had been forcefully engaged to ended up turning out to be a catfish yōkai and he had attempted to capture both Sango and Kagome to be his brides, which had turned out to be a very bad idea for him, indeed. Kagome had purified him into ash, and the adventure of the day had been over without much fuss and bother.

So Miroku was confused when, early the next morning, he felt a hand caress his shoulder and Kagome's aura brushing against his. He went with her, of course, but had been very puzzled until, once she was settled into his lap, Kagome spoke. "I was so angry with her for lying about you in such a way – am _still_ angry with her, in fact. She didn't even wish to marry you, she just wanted to use you for her own means… I need to listen to something beautiful and something that will remind me of the fact that it is a new day and that in the end the coming day is more important than the previous one."

Miroku blinked. He had, indeed, felt the simmering anger that Kagome was experiencing, but had, (rather logically, he felt) assumed that it was because someone else had attempted to force her into a marriage yet again. He had not even considered she might still be angry for the deception – over _him_ – that had happened earlier.

He kissed her softly and sweetly, pouring his love for her into the kiss. Kagome and the group had bedded down early last night and so she had woken him up just as dawn was beginning – and they had a spectacular view of it, having camped near a cliff that they were now sitting upon. Kagome sighed into his kiss, "This is a part of a song instead of the entirety of a song; there are two other parts I intend on listening to you with eventually when the time is right. This is from the "Grand Canyon Suite" by Ferde Grofé and it is called "Sunrise". I want to listen to it with you and watch the sun rise on a new day."

"Of course, koishi. Whatever you wish."

She smirked at him and said, "Does that mean that if I wished that you could meet my family then you would accept a shard from me and come to the future?"

There was not even a second of hesitation with his answer to her. "Yes."

Kagome blinked at that, clearly surprised by his answer, and he shook his head at her. "I wish I could indeed meet your family and meet the people who raised someone so perfect, so wonderful, so delightful to me. Would your idea work?"

Kagome frowned softly and hummed. "Possibly. I'm not entirely sure, and we only have two shards right now anyhow so it might not be the safest of ideas. We'll have to see. I… I do wish you could meet them, but at the same time it might be better if we didn't mess about with time travel any more than I already do."

Miroku nodded and kissed her again. "Whatever you decide, I shall agree with. Now, let's help cleanse your anger."

She nodded, and pressed play.

The first notes were soft, a gently building crescendo of sound, before a flute started up soft, sweet, beautiful trills, counterpointed by horns. Then various woodwinds took up the tunes, still with the counterpoint of horns, followed by what sounded like bells.

This piece was incredibly complex – and just as he thought about that, sound burst into a symphony into his ears, loud and bright and vivid; as he watched the sun rising he noticed the triumph of the song mixing in with the beginning of the new day.

The song grew louder; strings, horns, woodwinds – all beautiful, stunning, with little trills played by flutes interlacing the chorus and speaking of joy even as the noise built up in a crescendo and became more triumphant, drums and cymbals joining the song as it sped up and ended on a final blast of sound.

Kagome was completely relaxed into him, smiling softly as she watched the sun rise. It was a truly beautiful sight, just as the song had been utterly gorgeous. "That song was every bit as beautiful as you are, koishi. Thank you for listening to it with me."

As usual, his compliment made her flush lightly, but she leaned up and kissed him gently before pulling back and saying, "No, thank _you_ for listening with _me_. You weren't the one who needed it."

"I still benefited from it though, precious."

She blinked, before smiling wryly and nodding, then he leaned down to continue her short kiss and deepen it. The sunrise was stunning, but he would rather enjoy his lovely miko than continue watching it right now.


	24. Fur Elise

**AN:** I just want to thank all of those of you that have reviewed thus far! Your reviews completely make my day, reassuring me that this story that I am writing is being enjoyed and is probably nowhere near as bad as I keep worrying that it is. This week is another two-chapter week, although unlike usual, both chapters are shorter ones.

* * *

 **Für Elise – Beethoven**

Things have been completely crazy lately. First there was the priest with the yōkai arm that Kagura attacked and nearly killed – Kagome's new-found ability to nullify yōkai influence did indeed work on her ability to control corpses and saved his life, making Kagura retreat. But then Hakudoshi arrived on the scene and killed the priest they had saved via decapitation. Kanna and Akago, the infant who seems less pure evil now, appeared and Hakudoshi covered their escape. Then the group had gotten trapped into a cave – which had turned out to be an enormous ogre – and Miroku had been forced to absorb so many saimyōshō he had almost been fatally poisoned by it. Kagome could only feel thankful that she could purify the saimyōshō poison or Kami alone knew what could have happened because of that.

Then Inuyasha had been a complete fucking idiot and stolen one of her shards to augment the Tessaiga – which, due to the evil aura of the ogre they were inside, immediately became tainted – and Kagome had been forced to purify the shard, channelling her ki into it so that it stayed pure and Inuyasha could get them all out.

Then there was the whole mess with the Hitōkon that Kagome didn't even _want_ to think about, especially because one of their shards had been stolen (thankfully nobody outside of their group knew that Kagome kept a shard hidden in another vial in her backpack; ever since the ordeal with Renkotsu she had begun hiding a shard so they never had to go through losing _all_ their shards again) shortly after the incident. Kagome strongly suspected that Kohaku remembered his past and was faking being amnesiac in order to keep his memories from being erased again by Naraku.

She decided on her song early that night, It was the perfect expression of what she was feeling right now.

* * *

Miroku was completely unsurprised when Kagome called for him that night – she must be feeling stressed about the latest happenings in their lives and so she would need to cleanse herself of those emotions that the situations they had gotten into as of late. He wondered what piece of music she would choose, before chuckling wryly. He would not know it even when he knew its name – not until he had listened to it.

So she told him it was a piano piece by a familiar composer – Beethoven, who had composed the "Pastoral" symphony that was the second song she had listened to with him all those months ago, as well as "Egmont Overture," which they had listened to after Mt. Hakurei – and that it was called "Für Elise".

Then the earpieces were placed into their ears and the piano began to play.

The piano was almost desolate in its beauty, before the sounds modulated into a more serene beauty, the rapid notes filling his ear. The song became an almost joyful chorus, notes played quickly until they shifted back into the beginning tune.

Then, with no warning whatsoever the song became darker, laced with the feeling of battle, before it shifted once more into the beginning tune and ended on that. He wondered why she had picked this particular piece (it had been far more positive than what he was expecting), and she answered his question before he could ask it.

"We won all of our battles, and probably avoided a lot of unpleasantness because I can cure the saimyōshō poison. Not to mention I'm fairly certain that Kohaku has remembered his past and is now fighting against Naraku in his own way. Plus, we still have my hidden shard. So things are still pretty good despite the short bits of unpleasantness."

He nodded, that made sense. Then again, her choices always made sense. He stroked her back and side as she relaxed into him. The song had been quite short and so they had some time before Inuyasha would get worried and come looking for them – Miroku decided to make the best of his time by kissing his intended until she could barely breathe.


	25. Spring

**Spring – Vivaldi**

Kagome had seen the first blooms of cherry blossoms earlier today, and was excited about it – that meant it was time to share "Spring" with Miroku. She had a lot on her mind; Goryōmaru had turned into Mōryōmaru and Kagura seemed to be more openly defying Naraku – on the one hand Kagome was pleased, but on the other hand, surely he would punish Kagura and Hakudoshi for their scheming. Not that Hakudoshi would be any loss, but Kagura was a tentative ally and her loss would cut Kagome deeply. She felt very bad for the situation Kagura was in; a slave trapped by her master holding her heart and willing to chew her own self to pieces in order to escape, much like a fox would often chew its paw off to get free of a trap.

Sighing, she put those thoughts aside, pleased when Inuyasha found a secluded glade for them to have lunch in. Once lunch was finished she pulled Miroku aside, not protesting at all when he tugged her into his lap and held her close. "It's time to listen to "Spring" by Vivaldi."

He nodded softly at her. "I suspected as much. Let's listen, then."

He kissed her swiftly before she inserted the earbuds into their ears and she found the song, selected it, and pressed play.

* * *

Not an enormous amount of things had happened lately, but the few things of note that had gone on had been important things, and Miroku was pleased when, during their journeys, they saw a stand of Sakura trees, blossoms beginning to spread their petals. That meant a distraction from both the mundane and the unusual, a break from their usual routine, as Kagome would want to listen to her spring song today.

Sure enough, after lunch was finished and whilst Inuyasha was taking a short nap, Kagome led him away from the group slightly, not enough to leave anybody unprotected but enough that they could have some privacy.

Then the music filtered into his ear. The first strains of music were supremely joyful, light as petals filtering through the wind, before it shifted into a dance of flowers, instruments threading in and out between each other in an intricate play. Then the music shifted again, this time first back into the beginning tune, before moving into something resembling what he thought a swirl of cherry blossoms upon the wind like a whirlwind would sound like. It only lasted a short time before the beginning tune came back into play, and then it was a thunder of sound, strings playing almost harshly, vividly dancing between high and low, very much sounding like rushing water composed by sound. Then it shifted into just one repetition of the beginning chorus, and changed.

A single instrument played a series of sweet high notes, joined by an instrument playing lower notes, before sliding into something more like a single blossom floating in a breeze, before moving back into the main tune once more.

This was definitely the most complex of the seasonal pieces so far, he thought, as it slid into a solitary instrument playing a slow, gentle, and sweet, but almost mournful, tune, accompanied by others playing accentuating notes. So far this was the longest stable tune in this song, and he sighed softly, combing his fingers through Kagome's hair as they listened together. The music silenced, before another joyful chorus began, rising around them and beginning a swift interplay of notes, the tune dancing in and out between joy and sweetness. It twisted around, strings being played swiftly intermixed with slower pieces.

Then it began another chorus that was almost like a mixture of mourning or sadness intertwined with sweet triumph, before returning to a gentler tune and ending on that. He smiled down at his koishi, kissing her forehead sweetly. Words weren't needed when their auras felt exactly the same – content, relaxed, and deeply moved by beauty.


	26. Marche Slave

**Marche Slave – Tchaikovsky**

They have had several encounters with Mōryōmaru now, and Hakudoshi is gone, sucked into Miroku's kazaana. It's official that Kohaku has his memories back and is working with Kikyō to aid in the defeat of Naraku, which Kagome is practically ecstatic over – Kohaku _remembers_!

Kikyō absorbed the remaining energy from Midoriko's tomb, which pretty much everyone – including Inuyasha – was peeved about. Tessaiga now has the ability to absorb yōki, which seems a nebulous blessing at the very best – Inuyasha has no control over it whatsoever and Kagome worries that absorbing too much yōki will cause Inuyasha to turn into his full yōkai form, but she has no proof for her worries and decides to let the issue lie. It isn't as if she can do anything about it, after all.

Still, they have had many battles – and many triumphs – over the past while, and Kagome is feeling fairly hopeful that things will turn around for them. Things have to start working out for them eventually, and they still have a shard with them, although nobody outside of their group is aware of this – not even Kikyō; Inuyasha admitted to Kagome that he didn't want to lose the shard and he knew that Kikyō might integrate the shard they have into whatever unknown plan she has if she knew about it. If it is absolutely necessary they will disclose the information but otherwise, nobody is finding out about it.

The end is drawing nearer with each passing day – Kagome can _feel_ it, can feel them barrelling onwards towards their final battle with Naraku, although there is likely still a good bit to come before they reach that final battle.

Kagura, however, is now alone in her plotting, and this weighs heavily on Kagome's mind, before she decides the piece to listen to tonight. It perfectly describes both her feelings about Kagura and her feelings about their recent battles and triumphs.

* * *

Kagome has been thoughtful in a sad way lately – Miroku knows that Kagura is a pressing issue on his koishi's mind, worrying about their tentative ally against Naraku, and wonders what piece she has picked for them to listen to. He has a suspicion that it will only be one piece, despite her disparate emotions, because she has previously been able to find a single piece of music to explain to him her varied feelings about their trials and tribulations that they are going through.

It wasn't much of a surprise when, once she was settled into him, she told him, "This is another piece by Tchaikovsky," the same composer for the 1812 Overture that so aptly summarised her feelings about the fight against Tsubaki, "called "Marche Slave". It sums up pretty much all of my feelings as of late."

He nods and rests his head atop hers as she arranges the earpieces and plays the music into his ear.

The first notes are low and quiet, before more strings come in; desolate and depressed sounds, but also sounds of duty, overwhelming imprisonment, and desperation. A march of slavery indeed. Higher notes come in with a driving sense of purpose, before the song shifts into the thrill of battle, highs and lows before desperation comes back full force and a torrent of noise pours into his ear – driven, focused, burning. And then the part that so accurately portrays Kagome's feelings about Kagura's imprisonment comes back above the driven battle, before it shifts solely back into the beginning march of slavery.

Then the horns come in, playing soft trills that get ever quieter. The song silences before flutes and horns come in playing a sweet, almost joyful and thoroughly triumphant tune; her feelings about the times they had managed to drive off Mōryōmaru, about ridding the world of Hakudoshi, and probably her feelings about Kohaku as well. The tune rises in a chorus of joy and determination, then a tune very reminiscent of the triumph of the other song by this composer slides in, before it is back to the driving battle once more – they had fought so much lately, struggling to win, to overcome, and that struggle was shown as the piece sped on, rapid and rough. The march comes back in full force for a short time, and he feels strongly for Kagome, who ached so badly for Kagura, before the tune lightens again, showing their determination to overpower their enemy, quieting into near silence again.

The tune is almost completely silent now, and he wonders if it is ending before the flutes start. Then the drums come in along with the horns, a light-hearted and delightful chorus soon join with the horns reminiscent of the other piece once more, and the song becomes filled with overwhelming triumph blasting into his ears, ending with a fast repetition of overwhelming drive and delving into desperate triumph before repeating the drive once more. The song ends on that triumph, horns blasting a few low notes before silence overcomes again.

Kagura is a slave to Naraku, and this piece of music achingly expressed how Kagome felt that Kagura must feel; desperate, determined, pained immeasurably, fighting what she well knew might be a futile battle. It also expressed the thrill of their latest battles, and the triumph of each time gaining more of a foothold into winning against both Mōryōmaru and Naraku. "As usual, your piece was perfectly expressive, Kagome-koishi."

She smiles up at him, a sad, but content, smile on her face. "Even if she dies, then at least Kagura will be free, and we will all continue to drive onwards. We will win, no matter what it takes, no matter how high the cost of our win, because we have no other choice but to triumph over the evil plaguing our homeland."

He nods solemnly, holding her close to him and just enjoying their nearness, her presence with him in the warming night air. It was true, although a part of him wonders if Kagome will be able to be so composed about things if Kagura actually happened to die. As much as he hopes so, he rather thinks his hopes will be thoroughly dashed. In her own way, Kagome considers Kagura as a friend more than just as a reluctant ally; Kagura's loss would probably rip her apart. Miroku is not looking forward to it one bit.


	27. Andare

**A/N:** There is sexual content in this chapter. There may likely be sexual content in other chapters; I am not sure yet. Just a warning for those of you who don't like that sort of thing, although really, it's pretty tame compared to lots of stuff out there. I'd just read it or skim through it until you reach the song part at the end of the chapter. (Additional note: this is my least favourite chapter in the fic. I tried to rewrite it several times but every damn time Kagome reacted the same way. She refused to cooperate with me. This was not how I wanted this to happen. Grrr.)

Also, I am having serious trouble finding a song for the final chapter in this fic, which I am only just now trying to figure out how it will go. I need something uplifting, happy, and preferably with a sense of possible tenseness or waiting lacing through it at least here and there. Any suggestions would be highly welcome right now because finding the song is totally blocking me from being able to write and we're close to being done.

* * *

 **Andare – Ludovico Einaudi**

Kagura was dead. Kagome knew that she had seen this coming, that she had been expecting it to happen, but when Sesshōmaru-sama told them about it – it had happened around the time Kagome had been hopeful over Kohaku's returned memories and listening to "Marche Slave," for Kami's sake! – she still felt immeasurable grief pouring through her. Even though Kagura had been an enemy, one of Naraku's incarnations, a detachment, she had still been their ally when she could be. Even though she had been a slave, she had fought against her master and owner, trying her hardest to win what was, probably from the very start, a fruitless, futile battle. The whole group seems subdued at the news, even Inuyasha – who had always gotten along horribly with Kagura – mourning the loss of the wind yōkai who had been born trapped and imprisoned.

Because Kagome had been expecting this to happen, she already had her piece of music picked out, had for ages now. It was another piece by her favourite modern composer and pianist, Ludovico Einaudi, called "Andare".

She had hoped, even if only the most hidden part of her heart, that she would never have to listen to it because of this outcome. It seemed that her hopes were useless, however. Kagura was dead.

Kagome still couldn't really wrap her head around it. There was a gaping wound inside of her heart and soul, and she didn't think she could handle this right now. It was too much. She needed that hole to be filled before she ripped herself to shreds. She wondered, for a moment, if Kagura had felt like this before she died.

* * *

Miroku spoke quietly to Inuyasha about stopping early that day, and the hanyō glanced back at Kagome, who was travelling listlessly at the back of the group, before nodding and muttering to him, "Make her feel better."

He promised to do his best.

There really was only so much Miroku had control of however, so he could really only try. When they stopped that evening, Miroku immediately took Kagome into the trees, picking her up before they got very far and holding her body close to his as he walked further into the forest surrounding them. He was surprised, but not really that shocked, when Kagome kissed him furiously, desperately, as soon as he had set her down. She tugged at his robe, murmuring to him, "Make it go away. Make me forget, Roku."

Miroku was torn. On the one hand, Kagome was _begging_ for him, and they had both been considering deepening their relationship in such a way for some time now. She had felt ready for this for several sennights. On the other hand, she was clearly overwhelmed with grief and loss. She might regret this when she was recovered from her grief. "Kagome… There are other ways I can help. Shōmyō-"

He was interrupted and knew that his argument would be useless. That healing shōmyō only worked on a _willing_ patient. " _Please_ , Roku. I can't… I'm going to break if I listen to _anything_ right now."

Miroku was hesitant as he caressed her stomach underneath her shirt, but she moaned and clutched at him. "Yes. Now. I need this, Miroku. I need _you_."

It was asking too much of him for him to deny her right now, and he couldn't resist her desperate, longing need. Kagome needed him right now, needed anything she could get from him, and his rejecting her would only break her apart. He was still hesitant, but he trusted Kagome to know what she could handle and if she needed this right now, then he would give her what she needed. How could he do anything else? So he stripped off his robe and laid it onto the ground, spreading his precious miko out on the fabric. He stayed in his under-shirt and his tights, for the moment, carefully – _gently_ – stripping Kagome out of her shirt and skirt. He had to admit, her undergarments were enticing, and as he carefully took them off of her, he admired her beauty – Kagome was completely stunning and perfect in every way, from her pert breasts to the sunburst-shaped scar where the Shikon had been ripped from her body.

His hands caressed her skin, stroking over the smooth expanse as she moaned softly, arching into his touch. Miroku knew many, _many_ ways to bring pleasure to women – although he had never used any of them before now – but the sheer delight she showed just from his touch was thrilling and amazing. She was so responsive to him. He captured a nipple with his mouth just to see how she would react, and her cry of pleasure was a wonderful sound, as he sucked lightly and flicked his tongue against the hard bud. It was not long – after much teasing of both of her breasts – before she was tugging at his shirt and demanding that he undress. He obliged, before hesitating – this would undeniably pain her, and Miroku did not want to cause his koishi any pain if he could help it.

"It's gone."

He blinked at that, looking down at his panting fiancée, as she clarified, "My hymen – the part that causes pain the first time a female has sex – it tore months ago; physical activity will do that, when it is strenuous enough. It hurt like hell, but this won't hurt me very badly."

That reassured Miroku, and he mauled her breasts again, before leaning up to kiss her. "You're sure? I can distract you in other ways."

She shook her head fervently. "I want _you_. I want to forget and the only way I will be able to forget is if we are joined."

Miroku understood where she was coming from – other types of pleasure would not last as long, and while they would still bring her pleasure, it would not be what she wanted. She wanted the full experience of him melding with her.

"Then I shall give you what you wish, precious; beautiful koishi of mine."

She smiled up at him and he captured her mouth in another kiss as he spread her legs, positioned himself, and pressed into her.

The first sensation was of tightness, rapidly followed by heat and a slick wetness – the wetness was promising, it meant he had pleasured her to a point that she was truly _ready_ for him, instead of just needing him. He pushed further into her, and Kagome moaned into his mouth, clutching at his neck and shoulders, her fingers threading through his hair and tugging it out of its ponytail so that she could pull on it lightly. Eh, he could find the tie later. If Kagome wanted to play with his hair whilst they joined for the first time, he would grant her desire.

Finally he was fully encased inside of her, and he pulled away from the kiss to pepper kisses along her cheeks, the bridge of her nose, and down her neck. He had never felt such pleasure in his life, and it was all because of Kagome. When she started to writhe beneath him, he took it as a sign that it was okay to move, and his hips pulled back, before pushing forwards again, and she moaned softly, tugging on his hair as he bent down to use his mouth on her breasts, thoroughly marking her skin. Kagome was _his_ , and he wanted that to be visible to her. Just as her scratches down his back claimed to him that he was _hers_ – now and forever more they were tied together, by more things than he could count.

He continued his thrusting, rolling his hips and moving his hands alternately from her breasts to her hips and to the area of her sex that was the most sensitive: dragging her pleasure out, making her forget – at least for the time being – all of her grief.

When he finally felt he was nearing his own completion, he kissed her and his fingers explored the most sensitive part of her body intently – rubbing, circling, and rolling it between his fingers. Soon she came undone beneath him; the picture of ecstasy as her body tensed and arched, her hands pulling his hair and clawing down his hip as she cried out softly, panting heavily. Her release brought about his own, and he almost collapsed onto her as he finished – never had he felt such overwhelming… _anything_. Pleasure, completion, contentment, a sense of rightness ringing throughout his body. He might have been hesitant when he started this, but that hesitance was gone, especially with the way Kagome was still moaning softly and panting heavily, her hands coming up to stroke his face. "Mnh, Miroku… Thank you. I love you so much. Thank you for giving me what I needed."

Kagome clearly was not regretting a single thing about this, so Miroku shifted around so that he could hold her nude body against his, softly stroking over her skin as he kissed her sweetly. "I love you just as much Kagome. You are welcome, and thank you for giving me an experience I will never be able to forget."

She blushed quite adorably at that, and bit her lip. "R-really?"

He nodded solemnly, "Truly. It was amazing. _You_ are amazing. How are you feeling?"

The question was soft and serious, and she smiled gently at him, "A little sore. A little high. Complete. Whole. The hole in my chest is gone. It still hurts but it is not crushing me to the point that I cannot cope with it any more."

Even though it had been her demand, Miroku was still gratified that he had been able to help her so deeply. They stayed close to each other for a while more, before bathing in the stream and dressing each other, which felt incredibly sweet and intimate. Then Kagome sat on his lap and pulled out the music player she hadn't let go of until he took her away from camp. "I take it you already have a song picked out?"

Kagome was practical like that; even though she would have been praying it would not happen, she had likely predicted Kagura's death and prepared a song for it long ago. He was proven correct as she stated, "This song is called "Andare" and it is by Ludovico Einaudi. He's my favourite modern composer and pianist."

A familiar name yet again. This one had been the man who did the song "Oltremare," where Kagome was remembering her family. She arranged them comfortably and then pressed play, her body a little bit tense until he rubbed a hand down her back and his other down her side, making her relax into his chest.

Immediately the song filled him with a sense of desolation and beauty, before the tune shifted into higher scales that were as depressing as they were sweet, sometimes playing slow trills and sometimes being more repetitious notes. Then it shifted into a sound of profound loss, of intense desperation.

Kagura had been a slave, trapped because her heart was not in her body.

It shifted back to the tune previous to the intense desolation for a time. Then came in the hope, and he was surprised until he realised that just like himself, Kagome must have hoped that Kagura would be able to free herself, and the soft trills expressed that clearly, still desolate, but hopeful, before shifting into a battle – Kagura fighting Naraku every step of the way even as she had no choice but to obey.

Then it was sweetly depressing again, and his heart ached. He had not felt as deeply for Kagura as Kagome and her ever-generous heart did, so how badly must she be feeling if the song was affecting even he himself so much? No wonder she had been unable to listen to it before.

Then soft notes began to play, portraying a sense of struggle, hope that she would win out, before shifting into the battle for her freedom once more, low notes intermixing with medium toned notes – that somehow had a slight sense of hope to them. The song ended there, and he sighed softly. Yes, Kagura was dead – but Kagura was also _free_ now. No longer enslaved. Kagome would not have been able to feel or think about that previously, with how mired in grief she had been. This song would have torn her to pieces.

Now, however, she was relaxed against him, tears trailing down her face that he immediately kissed away even as she smiled sadly at him and echoed his thoughts, "At least she is free now. Kagura is dead, but she is also free."

He nodded in agreement. They had lost a reluctant foe and tentative ally, but at least she was no longer enslaved to a crazed madman. At least she was as free as the wind she had controlled whilst she had still been alive.

Free to rest in peace and reincarnate into a better life.


	28. Shōmyō - Rikkyoku

**Shōmyō – Rikkyoku**

The young, blue eyed little girl shook her head when her friends asked her to go to the only café in the area. Her friends asked why, and she hesitated to _tell_ _them_ why. They wouldn't understand. They were all from around here; they all _belonged_. But she, with her wavy (instead of straight) black hair and vividly blue (instead of brown) eyes, was an outsider. Some places tolerated her presence more than others, some people were more sympathetic to her, but that café was not one of the places she could go. She tried to explain this to her friends, but they didn't understand – they all spoke in turn, each one telling her of her virtues. She was kind, and sweet, and accepting, and honest, and instead of looking _weird_ with her unusual eye colouration and wavy hair, they thought it made her pretty. She had to be imagining things – why would anybody reject her?

They were wrong, so very wrong, but she went with them anyway, and was met with the rejection she feared more than anything else. Her friends all got their drinks in a reasonable amount of time, as well as their little snacks that they ordered. The young girl with foreign blood in her, however, did not get her drink until it was cold, and the snack she ordered was crumbled and broken. Her friends stared at this, pity and confusion in their gazes, and she couldn't _take it_ any more. She ran from them, ran from the café, ran from the rejection, ran from everything she hated.

* * *

Kagome woke up, panting softly and with tears leaking down her face. Those times were over. She wasn't there any more. It was fine. She was in a place where she was accepted and even welcomed by every single person surrounding her. She had a lover and a son, a sister and a good friend who was becoming more and more like an older brother to her. Her time living in that small town before they moved to the shrine didn't matter any more.

The feeling of rejection and being despised wouldn't go away, however, and she crawled out of her sleeping bag, placing her pillow next to Shippō-kun as she walked over to where Miroku was. Surprisingly enough, he was already awake, his eyes filled with concern. He lifted up the edge of his bedroll and she slipped into it, shivering and pressing close to him. She needed him, she needed everything she could get from him right now. He sensed this, and wrapped his arms around her, stroking her back softly as he kissed the trails of tears on her cheeks. "What happened, precious?"

"Nightmare. Well… That's not entirely true. It was a nightmare but most importantly it was a memory."

He frowned softly, before tugging her closer to him, his hands rubbing over her back. "Tell me about it, koishi."

She shook her head. She couldn't talk about this right now. Talking would only make it worse. It always did when she had a nightmare, trying to thresh things out in words just resulted in her being more upset afterwards. He kissed her softly, sweetly, and then repositioned their bodies, so that she was on her back and his hand was over her heart. Then he began to sing.

Shōmyō. What he had offered to her with Kagura but she had denied. She wouldn't deny it today, however. She couldn't talk about this, didn't have any music of her own that fit the situation, and needed something to take the pain away.

His voice was soft and gentle, winding around her and pouring into her and filling her up. Unlike the ryokyoku he had used to teach her how to meditate, this one was clearly a rikkyoku, simple, short, and repetitive. The effect, however, was anything _but_ simple. The chant enfolded her, embraced her, entwined with her, filling her with a sense of belonging and rightness so perfect she began to uncontrollably weep again. These tears were cleansing, however, tears of joy, healing, and happiness as his chant drove away the lingering vestiges of what negative emotions were affecting her from her bad memory. When she was finally better – truly so – he ended his chant and kissed her sweetly. "Better, precious?"

She nodded to him, turning so she could snuggle into his chest and rest her head against his heart. "Much. Thank you. I needed that more than I have the words to say."

He wrapped his arms around her. "Anything for you, koishi. Anything for you."

She smiled up at him, because she would do anything for him, too.


	29. The Marriage of Figaro Overture

**The Marriage of Figaro Overture – Beethoven**

Lots and lots of stuff had happened lately. Tessaiga absorbed a yōkai's power, which prevented backfire from using the dragon scaled Tessaiga ability. Tessaiga also absorbed powers from a yōkai named Kinga, which prevented Mōryōmaru from gaining an attack he could successfully use on their group, because whenever he used it there was a resonance backlash. Tenseiga appeared to have gained an offensive ability, which Sesshōmaru-sama used to save their asses from a yōkai lake – strange experience, that'd been. Tessaiga also gained the ability to cut through Yōketsu – yōkai whirlpools or some such thing – which also saved their lives.

Now Kōga-kun was travelling with their group, which was stressful for the first day until Kagome finally lost her patience with the ōkami and zapped the fucker. That proved her to be alpha female apparently, and even though Kōga-kun was still discontent that she was not mating with another alpha, she was too strong for him to actually disobey now.

The flirting had stopped completely now. Well, okay, _Kōga-kun's_ flirting had stopped completely now. Miroku hadn't stopped his at all, which, after another day – this one filled with complaining – had led to Inuyasha giving Kōga-kun the dressing down of his life and telling him to shut up, suck it up, and deal with it or he could stop travelling with their group. Miroku made Kagome happy and Kagome kept the group steady and stable, more effectively now than ever, and dealing with the flirting and touching was just something he would have to get used to because Inuyasha wasn't going to cope with Kagome's being unhappy.

Kagome had flushed deeply at that little rant, thinking about what a huge difference had happened from the beginning of her travels, then given Inuyasha a hug and thanked her "aniki," which had made the hanyō back away in confused embarrassment before he grumbled a "Keh. Can't have my _im_ _ō_ _t_ _o_ _-chan_ bein' unhappy and messin' up the team's stability."

Needless to say, Kagome was beyond pleased with the family her group had become, and that Inuyasha accepted the place she wanted him to have in her life. Shippō called Inuyasha and Sango "Uncle" and "Aunt" now, and just last week had worked up the courage to call Miroku "'tō-san," an incident which had led to a father-son bath in the onsen near their camp and two very happy people walking back to camp that evening.

She might have left a family back in the future, but she had built a new one here where she belonged, and with the happiness of that in her heart, she decided to listen to a song tonight. She had the perfect one in mind.

* * *

Kagome had been practically flying with a content happiness ever since Inuyasha had accepted her declaration of a sibling connection between them and completely changed the dynamic of the group yet again. This change was much more subtle than the last one though, seeing as that sort of bond had simply been unspoken between the two of them but felt very strongly at the same time. The last change to the group dynamic hadn't been related to Kagome in any way at all excepting that the fact that she and Miroku were courting each other had made Shippō-kun slowly begin to see Miroku as a father figure. It honestly very well might have happened even without that factor, because Miroku had been seeing the young kitsune as a son for moons now, and he really didn't think much would have changed that. The kitsune was just too precocious, sly, and adorable for Miroku not to see him as a kindred spirit of sorts.

When he had that private conversation with his son he had made sure that the young kitsune understood that there was a chance that one or both of his adopted parents might not come out of the final battle with Naraku intact or alive – Shippō-kun, however had been fighting and travelling with them and fully understood the dangers inherent in their war. Shippō-kun had grown up admirably so far, and Miroku looked forward to seeing how he grew up more in the future.

Miroku wasn't too surprised when Kagome called him that night – surely she must wish to express her happiness at the recent events going on in their small group, which had now become a family.

When he had settled her into his lap, she leaned up and rubbed her cheek against his, which made him smile softly and gather her closer to him. After a short time she spoke, "This song is called "The Marriage of Figaro Overture," and it is by Mozart. It perfectly expresses my joy at our core group being a proper family."

He could expect this to be a supremely happy song then, because he could feel how content and pleased his lovely miko was at the outcome of her declaration towards Inuyasha earlier today. The hanyō had matured by leaps and bounds since the beginning, and Miroku felt a brotherly kinship with him as well – unlike Kagome, however, it was more like brothers the same age.

She placed the earpieces into her ear and his ear, then selected the song and played it.

The first sounds were a blast of horns of strings that rapidly quieted, before blasting again, in a supremely joyful tune, being played rapidly – almost frenetically. Then the tune changed, strings softly playing after a rapid, loud tune. Then the tone changed yet again, slipping back into the first tune, and after that, shifting once more.

This entire piece was light hearted, playful, and joyous, lifting Miroku's heart throughout every change in the tune, every shift in the speed or volume of the horns and strings. And there were _many_ changes and _many_ shifts, although they were mainly repetitions of earlier pieces intermingled together. The song ended on a blast of horns, and he couldn't help a pleased laugh, before kissing his koishi's forehead. "I am glad you are so happy, miko mine."

She smiled vividly at him and curled into his body, kissing his throat softly. He smirked and let his fingers play along her side, lightly scraping his nails across her scalp, which made her moan gently. Then he murmured to her, "How about I make you even happier, love of mine?"

Her eager giggle was promising, and he kissed her deeply. The song hadn't been very long, so they could afford some time to themselves. He intended to make the most of every chance he got.


	30. Cloudburst

**The Grand Canyon Suite – Cloudburst – Ferde Grofé**

Life had been beyond hectic lately, seriously! Kagome was rather pissed off with Kikyō for interfering with things and attacking Kōga in an attempt to steal Kōga's shards, especially because her presence had _also_ interfered with their ability to defeat Naraku for the last time. Her attacks meant that Naraku was able to take the shards from Kōga. If Kōga had had his shards, the group might have been able to beat the spider hanyō once his heart had been exposed to them after he absorbed Mōryōmaru. As it was, Miroku hadn't dared try using his kazaana for fear of absorbing Kikyō as well, once she entered the scene at a bad angle, and Naraku had escaped them. Naraku had his heart now, however, and that meant that he was _much_ more vulnerable to them now than he had previously been.

Of course, it probably also meant more detachments or at least more attacks from the remaining detachments, Kanna and Byakuya.

However, Kagome wasn't feeling like listening to anything regarding their latest battles and trials. She didn't need to, really. Instead she was trapped in a cave with her family and Kōga, because of a completely unexpected and very sudden thunderstorm that had come upon them out of nowhere. This was something she had been waiting for, though. She had been wondering if it would happen to them at all before summer hit them in full – it was already upon them now, but only just beginning – and the rain decreased from the spring downpours. There had been many storms, but not many _thunder_ storms, and Kagome really felt that "Cloudburst" needed to reflect a thunderstorm rather than just a simple downpour of rain. There were too many parts reminiscent of the crash of thunder for it to work with that.

So when she beckoned to Miroku, he came to her.

* * *

Kagome was weathering life as of late very well, but Miroku had now stopped being surprised when she called for him despite the situation not seeming to warrant being called. Something would be made clear to him, and he would understand why she had called him. Smiling as he placed her into his lap, she told him, "This song is another from the "Grand Canyon Suite," this one being titled, "Cloudburst". I was waiting for the right kind of storm to listen to it with you."

In other words, likely a thunderstorm with the thunder and lightning raging around them outside as this storm was doing to them. He could expect this piece of music to be interesting, at the very least. And beautiful, of course, because even the more unpleasant music that Kagome listened to with him was still beautiful in its own way, and there was no indication of this song even being unpleasant. Probably a little chaotic, but that was it.

He kissed her neck and sucked on the skin enough to leave a mark there, which made her flush deeply and mumble to him, "Tease. _Possessive_ tease, at that."

Miroku just chuckled as she placed the earpieces into their ears. It was true, so why deny it. He would just tease her more as he said, "You love it and you know it."

She just flushed even more deeply and stuck her nose into the air, "Hmph. Maybe I shouldn't listen with you after all."

He knew she wouldn't follow through with that threat, but he still kissed her to sweeten her mood anyhow. "Ah, please don't be like that, koishi."

Kagome smiled at him and murmured softly, "I won't, then, since you asked so nicely."

The song started with soft, sweet strings playing gentle and quiet notes. Then a familiar tune came in, one he recognised from the previous song from this suite, before it changed yet again, becoming a rising sweetness. More familiar notes entered his ears, in a repetition of before, as the rising sweetness overcame them again, each repetition growing louder as the familiar notes rose to greet his ears a third time. This time was not followed up with sweetness, however.

This time it was followed by a quietly suspenseful tune, that was soon joined with little rising and lowering trills of strings, accentuated by low, deep notes and high, tense notes, playing more and more rapidly, followed between by low trills of piano notes and deep drumrolls that sounded like thunder crashing in the sky as well as high trills of piano notes that added to the suspenseful sound. The suspense rose higher and higher, flowing around them intensely. Some sound that was reminiscent of whistling wind began, and the low and high blasting of horns rose to meet it, overcoming it as the strings played suspenseful high notes. The low notes now sounded like short claps of thunder with all the other noise throughout the song as it continued rising into tense crescendos of noise that were dramatic and intense.

This was definitely the sound of a _thunderstorm_ ; it was incredible how aptly the composer managed to capture that feeling and sound.

Then the song nearly silenced, before a high blast of horns was followed by a piano trill, and the song rose in suspense once more. Then, surprisingly, triumphant horns overcame the suspense and he was reminded abruptly of the sunrise song. It was so beautiful and joyful that it made him ache. It was exactly the feeling of escaping from shelter after a storm had ended, even as harsher tones began to join in the triumph, undercutting it with a tenseness before the song finished on a final blast of horns.

This song definitely fit their situation – and perfectly at that. Like always, he thought as he gazed at his most precious person. She smiled up at him and he kissed her forehead gently, resting his cheek against it as he listened to the thunder crash around them. The chattering of the group around them – their family, excepting Kōga – was heart warming, and he hummed softly in contentment. This was home, regardless of where they were. It was the people they were with that made a place home for the two of them, and right now, they were surrounded by their family, so this was home. Shippō ran up to them and climbed into Kagome's lap, snuggling into both of their stomachs. "Are you enjoying the storm, 'kā-san, 'tō-san?"

Kagome nodded softly, running her fingers through his bangs, as Miroku ran his own fingers through their son's tail. "Very much, Shippō dearest. Are you?"

His smile was answer enough for the both of them.


	31. Nuvole Bianche

**Nuvole Bianche – Ludovico Einaudi**

Kikyō was dead. Oh, Kagome had tried. The webs had touched the deepest parts of her that resented Kikyō's existence for tearing her soul apart, and she had overcome them. She had purified the miasma from Kikyō just like she regularly did for Miroku, hoping to end Naraku's control of the situation, but it hadn't worked. Kagome thought it was because Kikyō was secretly tired of living, for nothing she did had kept the miasma at bay, no matter how hard she tried. They had journeyed to find the bow for Kikyō and by the time they returned she had been overcome by the miasma once more, the awful material saturating every pore of her clay form. Kikyō had then refused to let Kagome heal her again, confirming to Kagome her own feelings about the situation – Kikyō was just… _done_. With everything, but especially, Kagome thought,  life.

Inuyasha and Kikyō had had their last moments of her life on this earth together, and when he came back, Kagome had hugged him, and he had told her not to bring Kikyō back with her wish. Kikyō had been tormented enough, he told her, and coming back a third time would not miraculously make things better for the two of them. It would not make their relationship just work out because they wanted it to – and Kagome, while being sad, was a little bit relieved that the burden of choice had been taken out of her hands. Inuyasha had chosen to let his past go and start over with a clean slate. He had hugged her tightly when she responded with confirmation of his wishes, and then left to have some time alone. When he had come back his eyes had been red, but he looked absolved. He was no longer blaming himself.

Kagome had had this piece of music picked out already as well, because she had always known that eventually Kikyō would not be able to go on any longer. Either by fate or by choice, the other miko would eventually have succumbed to death, and while Kagome felt joyous due to her soul being whole again – Kikyō's soul had risen into the heavens rather than jumped back to Kagome, which had confirmed Miroku's theory – she was still sad for the situation that had happened.

So tonight she would grieve, in her own way, for Kikyō. Kikyō, who had troubled and aided them so much, who had loved her aniki dearly, and who had despised Naraku with her entire soul. Kagome had two dead people she was fighting for now, because in the end, it was Naraku's fault that Kikyō was dead again.

* * *

Miroku followed Kagome to the stream and sat down with her, pulling her to her spot and holding her close to him. He knew that even though she had not liked Kikyō very much, she would still grieve for the other miko. Kagome was just like that. He did wonder what kind of song her ode to Kikyō's second life would be, however. He rather thought it would be different to her song for Kagura.

Kagome gave him a partial answer to his question when she told him, "This is another song by Ludovico Einaudi, although it's rather different to the one I picked for Kagura."

Whatever this piece was like, piano would be the main instrument, and it would be stunning, like the last two from this composer and artist had been. "Let us listen, then, koishi."

She pressed play, and desolately beautiful chords began to fill his ears, before they silenced, and the piano started, oh, such a beautiful tune. It was hopeful and sweet and yearning simultaneously with each other. There were hints of desolation threading throughout the notes as they played purely and solidly into his ear.

Then the tune changed into something that was solely hopeful and beautiful, before shifting into something with hints of desperation for a short time and returning to the hopeful tune. Then it changed again, but retained the same feel in it, soft, slow trills that slowly silenced. The chords came back in, beautiful and desolate.

The beginning played once more, but somehow it felt more yearning this time around, possibly it was because Kagome's aura was strongly wistful at the moment. He knew she had tried her hardest to help the dying undead miko.

The tune ended on some beautiful and hopeful slow trills, before fading into silence.

"Kikyō… Kikyō had such a sad life, both times around. Burdened by duty, cursed with love, and torn apart by Naraku's machinations. She felt like she was in hell while her soul was waiting for my birth, and maybe she was… but maybe it just felt like that because she was trapped without a body. Then when she came back to life she found out that the end of her life was a lie, a farce, and she was able to reunite with the person she loved again – but she still had to play the role of an antagonist, still had to pretend to be working against him as she was in her last moments of life.

"I think she is at rest now. I think she can finally be at peace, knowing that we will defeat Naraku and that she is simply done with this whole mess. I know for sure that Inuyasha has her blessing to move on with his life, or he wouldn't have told me to save my wish and instead rid the world of the jewel with it. If he had any doubt about what she wanted from him, then he would have kept his mouth shut or wished for her back. But he didn't. So even as she lay dying, Kikyō was still filled with love for Inuyasha, and as she rose up to the heavens, I think she must be reunited with her other loved ones and reunited with the Kami. I have so much hope, and it feels realistic to hope this, that she is at peace now where she is at. No more fighting, no more torment, just living and watching and waiting to reincarnate."

Miroku nodded and rested his chin atop her head. "I believe that you are right to hope, and that you saw accurately when you picked this song out. It is not wrong to be at peace with the way things are now, Kagome. Inuyasha is, therefore you can be."

Kagome sighed softly and nodded, clinging tightly to him. "Yeah. You're right."

He held her close to him, just revelling in their nearness in the warm night air. It was fully summer now, and they still had a spider to squash, but they could relax for the moment and just _be_.


	32. Moonlight Sonata

**Moonlight Sonata – Beethoven**

Naraku had been quiet lately. Too quiet. Kagome and the rest of her family were all gearing up for the final battle. Oh, there had been that attack from Kanna, who was now deceased, and a few other things had happened, such as Sesshōmaru fighting Inuyasha and transferring the Meidō Zangetsuha ability to the Tessaiga, but that was all rather run of the mill. It was just _life_. Normal. Usual. Almost boring. Kanna had not been a threat whatsoever, and was another senseless loss of life, and Sesshōmaru-sama _always_ fought with Inuyasha, although it had been clear to Kagome that ever since he had found about the instability that Inuyasha suffered, all of those fights had been _education_ and _training_ , rather than actual attacks meant to harm her aniki. Kagome secretly considered Sesshōmaru-sama to be an ani-san because he was Inuyasha's half-brother and was helping him grow and learn, for all that those actions were hidden in the guise of attempting to take the Tessaiga.

However, there _had_ been one thing of note, and it was thoroughly positive! Shippō-kun, her darling little boy, had accidentally taken some kitsune examinations and risen to the eighth rank in one go for pranking Inuyasha, which Kagome was terribly proud of him for. Her son was so strong and talented.

Right now none of that mattered, however. Kagome was waging a battle, all alone in hell as she fought the miko who was being controlled by Naraku. He had finally made his move, and put Kagome into a truly terrible situation. Unlike Tsubaki, Hitomiko wasn't truly evil – she was just terribly unlucky and had been resurrected from death in order for Naraku to try to kill Kagome. Finally Kagome managed to purify Hitomiko, who with her dying breath informed Kagome that her powers were being sealed by something. The other miko did not know what, but Kagome suspected that, even if only tangentially, Naraku was somehow involved in this suppression of her abilities.

Honestly, the idea that her abilities were being _sealed_ was somewhat freaky and beyond unnerving. Kagome was already inordinately powerful as it was. How much of her power had been sealed away and for what purpose? Well, obviously, to make her weaker, but she was already powerful enough to kill yōkai with just a touch – she didn't even need her arrows any more, and they no longer bought arrows for her to use against yōkai, she just formed arrows out of her strange Shikon-granted ki – so it didn't seem to have worked that well.

Finally she was reunited with her family and she collapsed into Miroku's arms, completely exhausted. She informed them of the events that transpired while she was in hell, including the miko Hitomiko's dying words, which gave her enough stares of incredulity that she burst into helpless laughter, clutching at Roku's robes. "A-at least… At least.. I'm not.. the.. the only one… who finds that… completely disturbing," she managed to get out between her laughter, which seemed to relax her family considerably.

By the time they got to camp Kagome was deep in thought, and completely torn. On the one hand facing off against Hitomiko and being in freaking _hell_ had been bad enough to be borderline traumatising. On the other hand she really did _not_ want to think about anything that related to herself right now, unless it was only abstractly. She didn't want anything that would remind her of the new information rattling about inside of her head, or remind her of how utterly depraved Naraku was, or anything like that.

She guessed she _could_ listen to "Summer", but… it was a little premature. Next week would probably give them the first day that _she_ felt was scorching hot – the weather was much cooler in the Sengoku Jidai, which she was thoroughly thankful of. And she wanted to be in a better mood when she listened to "Sunset". So what was another piece she had intended on listening to with Miroku that wasn't already assigned to a specific time?

Oh! She knew the _perfect_ song! She'd been putting it off for ages now, mostly because she didn't want to drag him off to listen to this without anything happening that would warrant her dragging him off to a suitable spot – being the co-leader of her family meant that she had to be responsible. Smiling to herself, she snuggled closer into Miroku's chest – he'd been holding her ever since she returned, unwilling to let her out of his sight because of her dangerous experience – and tightened her arms around his neck, telling him, "We're not listening to anything that has anything to do with me tonight, Roku. I don't want to think about today or any of the crap that I've had to deal with. Instead our song has to do with you."

He sounded curious as he responded with a simple, "Oh?"

She smiled and shook her head. "I'll tell you more when it's time. This song definitely has to be listened to in private, and it's nearing dinnertime."

She felt him nod in acceptance and relaxed, closing her eyes. Hopefully the song would resonate with him as much as she thought it would, in spite of her prevention of the widening of his kazaana.

* * *

Miroku had to admit, he had not been expecting those words from his little miko, and wondered just how long she had been sitting upon this song she wanted to listen to. Clearly quite some time, considering that she only ever pulled them away from camp when there had been something suitable to explain it. So it was with an intense curiosity that he allowed her to lead him away from camp after they were finished with dinner. It had been quite some time since they had last left the camp very late at night; the group all knew of their time alone by now and it was better, this close to the final battle that they knew was going to be happening soon, for them to sleep through the night rather than skip out on sleep to be with each other.

Finally they were situated, and Kagome hesitated until he kissed the bridge of her nose lightly, "I promise I will not be offended, koishi. You have nothing to fear from me."

She relaxed minutely and said, "Well, I don't think that, it's just… part of what drew me to this song was how much the beginning… resonated with the kazaana… and I don't know if it fits any more. Without that it's more of a song that just fits the group as a whole, rather than being something that felt uniquely tailored to you personally."

Ah, he understood now. "It still weighs very heavily upon my mind, Kagome. _Very_ heavily. Just because it is no longer widening does not decrease the danger it causes myself and those around me when it is in use, or change the fact that even with your aid, Naraku could at any time realise what is happening and worsen it until it consumes us all."

His miko relaxed considerably upon hearing that. "I wish it did not pain you so, but I cannot change that any more than I already have, and it does mean that this piece that reminds me so heavily of you will probably resonate with you still."

He smiled and kissed her softly. "It is okay to have mixed feelings. I myself have mixed feelings about it."

She nodded and sighed, placing the earpieces into their ears and saying, "This is called "Moonlight Sonata" by Beethoven. Most people have only ever heard the first part of the song, but I much prefer the whole version. It reminds me of my travels here. Until you came along the first part was basically exactly how I felt about my duty, but you made my life here significantly more pleasant and changed that. Now I feel determined."

Miroku was glad to have had such a positive impact on his love, and kissed her again, before steeling himself. This was liable to be painful, although he knew that his precious Kagome would soothe any lingering hurt if there was any, so he was not too worried about it. "I'm ready."

She pressed play.

Oh. Oh. This _hurt_ already. Melancholic chords drifted into his ear and pulled at his very soul, achingly expressing the _exact_ things he felt about his kazaana. It also hurt because the idea that Kagome, his wonderful, beloved miko, had ever felt such pain was agonising. Low and moderate and high notes all combined into a whole that was so deeply painful and aching and raw that he could not help but to pull Kagome closer for comfort as he breathed in and out raggedly. It just kept _on_ and _on_ like that, pulling out his pain until he felt tears coursing unheeded and unchecked down his cheeks.

For all that it was agonising, however, it was soothing, blunting the raw edges of the pain with its gentleness and its comfort – he was not the only person to have felt this way. He was not the only one who had felt this sort of pain in their lives.

Finally it came to an end and the song changed rapidly and completely, shocking him out of his pain and into pure wonder. The tune now was light and joyful, expressing what it felt like to be with his travelling family, the joy he felt at having Kagome in his life. It was vaguely reminiscent of a folk dance, sweet and lilting even as the notes deepened and slowed slightly.

The tears had stopped now, and Kagome was kissing his cheeks until no traces remained, murmuring just loud enough for him to hear, "I love you."

Then the song changed again, becoming a vivid chase, a wild thrill, reminding him acutely of what their travels felt like every time shards entered into the picture. Running and diving and absorbing and being attacked. Despite the desperation and drive lacing throughout the song that also reminded him of what he felt whenever he had to use his burden, it was comforting and familiar – it had been well over three quarters of a year since their journey started and by now chasing and running were as familiar to him as breathing. It was something he could rely upon as being a constant in his life for now.

Then the music shifted until it sounded like what a battle aftermath was; checking that everyone was okay, that nobody had died – before going not into relaxation, but the chase once more. Exactly how their lives were – they rarely truly were able to be at rest; one thing or another was always interfering as soon as they managed to get a break.

Miroku smiled softly as the song ended, and rested his cheek against Kagome's forehead, whispering softly to her. "This song is my entire life right now, koishi. It… It is so perfect there are no words I have that accurately describe how wonderful it is."

He looked down just in time to catch her shy smile, as she said, "I had hoped you would feel that way. When… Whenever you aren't close by and I feel lonely, I listen to this and it reminds me of you and eases the loneliness. Of course, that hasn't happened much _lately_ , but it did back when we were still hiding our friendship and relationship from the rest of them."

She kissed him then, softly and sweetly. "I love you so much, Roku. Every part of you, without fail. I will be relieved when the kazaana is gone, but you have lived with it your whole life, and I know that it will continue to affect you even once it is gone, although the direct pain from it will have stopped."

Such acceptance of his entire being, even the curse that was meant to cause him pain and force him into an early death, struck Miroku deeply, and he held her tighter to him, resting his forehead against her hair as he breathed deeply, trying to work through the fact that even one person knew and accepted _every last part of his being_.

He finally composed himself, and softly informed her, "I do not know what it is that I have done in any of my lives to deserve you, Kagome, but I will never, _ever_ stop treasuring every last thing about you."

Miroku could _tell_ that Kagome was blushing deeply right now, especially once she hid her face in his robes, and he chuckled softly, stroking down her back and side. Kagome was _his_ and he was  never going to let her go. She was perfect, just as her choice of song tonight had been perfect in describing him, in seeing into his very soul. He would never deserve her, and he would always relish every single thing about her, and all of the joy she brought into his life.


	33. Summer

**Summer – Vivaldi**

Kagome was elated right now and thoroughly felt like _celebrating_. It had only been a week or so since her last song with Roku, so Kagome had thought that this one, when it came, would be listened to in public. But something _wonderful_ happened earlier today, and Kagome felt like a  proper celebration with her lover.

Just earlier today the group had run into Sesshōmaru-sama and Naraku's latest detachment – which didn't feel or act like Naraku at all, so Kagome was suspicious that Magatsuhi wasn't a detachment at all but was instead someone just working alongside Naraku for their own reasons – and they had helped him battle against the poisonous yōkai. Him transferring the Meidō Zangetsuha to Tessaiga, as generous as it had been, left him rather at a disadvantage now that Tōkijin was shattered. But oh, that didn't _matter_ any more, because during the fight Sesshōmaru-sama's yōki had begun growing and swirling around him until even Sango-chan could feel its pressure, and his arm had spontaneously regenerated at the same time as a sword formed from his yōki!

Sesshōmaru had, according to Tōtōsai, surpassed his father, and he had been incredibly pleased with these events, not even bothering to hide it. Kagome had been pleased as well, excitedly congratulating him on his achievement. She had slipped when she did so, calling Sesshōmaru-sama "ani-san", which had led to a very bemused daiyōkai being laughingly told by Inuyasha that he'd been adopted into the family just like Inuyasha had. At hearing that pronouncement, Sesshōmaru-sama had looked moderately amused and slightly pleased, which was as good as a verbal acceptance of Kagome's accidental words coming from him.

So Kagome was in an amazing mood right now – her family had been extended, her ani-san had grown in power and ability, and his body had become whole again.

These events led to them stopping early for the day, and when Miroku sat with Kagome at the edge of the camp, she kissed her way up his neck to his earlobe and whispered into his ear, "I wanna celebrate, Roku."

Like he always did whenever Kagome initiated things between them, Roku responded coyly, pretending to mistake her intentions, which was adorable and amusing, "Hmm, is it finally time for your summer song?"

She laughed softly and hummed, "Possibly," she said, before biting his earlobe and trailing her tongue around it, "but I want to celebrate _differently_ first."

He chuckled, picking her up and heading away from the group, and she heard Inuyasha playfully grumbling that at least they were considerate enough to leave the camp when they got like this, which made Shippō-kun comment back to him that his 'kā-san and 'tō-san deserved to be able to be with each other because they worked hard at protecting the group, which made both her and Miroku smile softly.

When they were finally a good distance away, Roku set her down onto her feet and kissed her deeply and hungrily, causing Kagome to clutch at his shoulders and moan into his mouth before he pulled away, divesting himself of his robe and laying it on the ground like he always did. Then he slowly, sweetly stripped her of her clothes, kissing her exposed skin and marking it thoroughly as he heightened her arousal. Kagome and Miroku _always_ marked each other up – possessive of each other and each of them loving the look of the other's skin with those delicious hickeys sprinkled across it.

Once Kagome was just in her bra and panties it was time for her to have her go, and she stripped him of his under-shirt, kissing, biting, and sucking her way across his firm chest as she explored his warm skin with her fingertips. When she was done, Miroku kissed her possessively, and undid the clasp of her bra, stripping it off of her as she divested herself of her panties, shortly followed by him ridding himself of his tights and his fundoshi. Then he picked her up and laid her out on his robe, kissing down her jaw and across her shoulder before moving to her collarbone. Kagome tensed in anticipation, knowing what was coming next and completely eager for it as his mouth moved to her breasts and his hands slid up her body.

The moment his mouth latched onto her nipple, his fingers were at her other one, and she arched and cried out, beginning to breathe heavily from the sheer pleasure he brought her. Kagome had sensitive breasts, and Miroku had – more than once – made her orgasm just by lavishing them with attention.

She squirmed and writhed beneath him as he delighted her body, making her ready and eager for him to the point that she was begging to have him inside of her. He eagerly complied, and Kagome gasped as she was filled up. Nothing felt as good as having Miroku inside of her, their bodies joined together and melded into one composite being made of pleasure. As he moved inside of her, she wrapped her arms around his back and scratched up it, relishing the feel of his skin against hers as she pulled him closer to her. He kissed her, and she happily returned the kiss, their hunger for each other flowing back and forth between each other as they moved together, their bodies in perfect sync.

Roku _always_ made sure that, even when he had already given her an orgasm previous to their joining, Kagome came with him when he filled her up with his essence, and that was no different this time around as they fell over the edge of ecstasy together, Kagome trembling and crying out softly as her lover held her tightly to him, his seed pouring into her. When they were done she was panting and whimpering from the aftershocks of her orgasm, and he was breathing heavily as he manoeuvred them onto their sides to recover and hold her tightly. Miroku was a cuddler, and Kagome adored it strongly.

Kagome nuzzled into Roku's shoulder and kissed it sweetly as he stroked through her hair, before they finally got up and washed each other in the onsen that they had gone to for their celebratory tryst. Kagome had still been wearing her backpack, so she had her soaps and towels with her, which was convenient, but also common. Roku tended to make sure they would be ready for washing up when he took her away for pleasure rather than her taking him away for a song. There was no need to be rude and force Inuyasha to smell their sex, after all.

She sighed as she dried herself off, idly watching her fiancée as he dried himself off, then laying their towels out on a flat rock to dry out as they dressed and he sat against a boulder, pulling her into his lap once she had her mp3 player in her hand.

Now it was time for a different type of celebration.

* * *

"Mm… I love you so much, Roku-mine."

Miroku smiled at his miko as she nuzzled closer to him, idly stroking down her back and side as she cuddled with him. That had been most enjoyable, as it always was when he made love to his precious Kagome, and her clear enjoyment of the act made him quite smug. She initiated their sessions at _least_ a third of the time. "I love you just as much, Kagome-mine. I'm glad you enjoyed celebrating with me, koishi."

She giggled at his tease, and kissed his jaw lightly. "Mm… I most certainly did. But we're not done yet. It finally got hot enough to listen to "Summer", and this song is certainly a celebratory song, even as it portrays a struggle."

Well then, that boded well. This song would likely be just as supremely enjoyable as the rest of the seasonal songs had been; not that he had thought otherwise, really, but even so, confirmation was always nice. So he hummed and kissed his betrothed as he held her. "I look forward to listening, then."

She smiled up at him and placed the earpieces into their ears, before selecting her song and pressing play.

The music was high and sweet at first, playing slowly and filtering into his ear like a summer breeze, winding around him and coiling in his chest with warmth. Then it sped up, being played rapidly by just one main instrument with a low background of strings being plucked until more joined in, and he smiled. This was definitely a joyful song so far. Then a single instrument played once more, a tune portraying a battle waging within. More instruments joined in shortly before the single instrument continued and then was replaced with a group playing softly, then more loudly. They softened once more before strengthening once again, and then shifted back into a familiar tune from previously in the song.

Then a sole instrument took up the main tune once more – like the spring song, this one was incredibly complex, as it portrayed a struggle with oneself. Then a group of strings began another celebration, before yet again being replaced with just one instrument taking up the main tune. A group interspersed in the song, tensely playing an undertone to the celebration, accurately showing a struggle between acceptance and wanting more. Suddenly the song was tense and rough, displaying a fight for dominance between joy and dissatisfaction, alternating between a group of instruments and then a single one. The song was a battle alternating between celebration and desire now.

This song ended less suddenly than the previous ones did, but it was still a rapid finish, and he smiled down at his beloved as it ended. "Gorgeous, just like you, although not as sweet as you."

She blushed and giggled at that, and Miroku smiled. Today had definitely been a good day.


	34. The Firebird

**The Firebird – Igor Stravinsky**

 _I don't fucking think so, Magatsuhi!_ Kagome concentrated, focused, and fought, her ki battling with the seal that this vile being was attempting to put on her so that she couldn't purify Kohaku's shard. She had worked out what Magatsuhi was by now, and knew why he so desperately wanted her out of the picture – he was the yōkai that resided inside of the Shikon, and wanted Naraku to win this war they were fighting: but Kagome was absolutely _not_ going to let that happen. And those weren't just determined words floating around in the air – Kagome had the training and power to back her words up, to turn them into action, to fight back against this powerful being and _obliterate him_. Of course, it wouldn't actually kill him, just send him back into the jewel, but if she could do that, they could finally make their move against Naraku and destroy him.

Kagome's power rose up around her, swirling so much that her hair was rising and rippling in the breeze from her ki, and after innumerable minutes, the seal was destroyed, and Magatsuhi fled, leading Kagome to draw upon her power and _shoot_ , her ki flowing in a stream right towards the yōkai. It hit him before he even realised what she had done, and in a flash, he was gone. Not dead – there was no ash left behind – but banished back into the jewel from whence he came. Kagome then promptly purified Kohaku's shard and fell to the ground, panting heavily.

That had been the most difficult thing she had ever done in her life, and they still weren't done yet. They had a spider to beat.

* * *

The final battle with Naraku was over and done with, and it had been a complete mess. By the end of the battle every last person participating in it had been fighting against newly-created detachments and working their hardest, as Naraku was clever enough to realise that with Inuyasha, Sango-san, Kirara, Miroku, Kagome, Kohaku, Kōga-san, Ginta-san, Hakkaku-san, and Sesshōmaru-sama all attacking him, he would die within moments. It had dragged on for well over two candle marks before they had finally each beaten their detachments – Kagome and Miroku both had gone through several dozen of them, as they with their purification abilities could easily destroy anything sent against them without breaking a sweat, especially Kagome – and then joined their attacks together to obliterate their foe before he could regroup and call out more detachments as he had been doing for the entirety of the fight.

The children had been safe behind one of Kagome's barriers; she had wanted to keep Kohaku there, but had told Miroku that she knew that Kohaku deserved to participate as much as the rest of them did, considering that he had been controlled and brainwashed by the vile spider hanyō.

Kagome had the Shikon now, whole and complete – Kikyō's last gift to them had been in the form of her energy residing in Kohaku's body and keeping his soul intact and attached to it. It had been a truly generous thing of her to do before she died, even though it had been unnecessary, as Sesshōmaru-sama had been more than willing to use Tenseiga on Kohaku.

The battle was over now, though, their foe was defeated, his kazaana was gone, and Kagome was energetically healing every last being that participated in the fight of all their numerous wounds. Her ki was swirling about her eagerly, pleased to be used – she had _so much_ of it now that ever since she had defeated Magatsuhi, her body had been glowing lightly. Miroku had just last night taught her how to suppress her ki so that it stayed inside her body – something he had always thought would be a useless skill, but that all monks were taught to do anyhow, in case of a situation just like this one. He had never in his life thought that he would actually have to use that particular shōmyō; being surprised about that was certainly… _interesting_.

He watched his intended as she made her rounds around the field they were all in, her ki adeptly mending any broken or injured bones, closing wounds, and re-energising the people she healed. Even Sesshōmaru-sama was allowing her to heal him, which was a pleasant surprise and a tacit acknowledgement of his acceptance of her sibling bond towards him.

When she finally finished, she sat next to Miroku with a happy sigh, resting her body against his. "I think I finally tired myself out. And we have a song to listen to now. It's another really long one like "Pastoral" was but I think it suits the situation perfectly. I have a second song in mind but that can happen after our celebration of this defeat and after I wish the Shikon away. Despite having defeated our enemy, things still aren't _done_ yet, and they won't be until I get rid of that vile jewel."

He nodded in acceptance and understanding; she would celebrate when the time for proper celebration came, but for now she just wanted to reminisce on the fight they had just completed.

She slid into his lap and arranged the earpieces with a practised ease, cuddling against him and saying, "This is called "The Firebird" and it is by Igor Stravinsky."

Miroku rather thought the title was accurate in a way that Kagome wouldn't even realise herself – she'd been just like a phoenix on the battlefield, her pink ki swirling around her and flowing from her body in a whirlwind of purification. He was looking forward to listening to this with her. So he smiled at her as she sought out the song on her music player – clearly she'd only picked the song once the battle was over and done with, rather than having already had it picked out. He would wager that the celebratory song, however, had been selected ages ago.

She finally found the song and hit the play button, and Miroku began to listen.

The first strains of music were almost impossibly quiet, strings playing a tense, low tune. Horns came in, joining the strings before playing contradicting high notes that added to the tense suspense, joined occasionally by other strings. Drums came in for a moment and then chimes, just adding to the dangerous mood set by the music. The strings grew louder and louder, heightening the suspense before quieting and joining with the horns and chimes in a complex movement before everything rose into a crescendo of noise that rapidly quieted.

This piece was already indescribably complex, he thought, as the strings and chimes, harp and flutes rose up in a dangerous set of trills. Up and down they went, the tune changing to be a teasing battle, well describing what it had felt like as they were on their journey to the final battle. Then everything rose in tension, describing flight, struggle, determination.

A single string instrument began playing a tune, joined by others, this one sounding out a mood he couldn't describe as anything other than solemn duty and determination to follow through in that duty. And all the while in the background the horns added a counterpoint.

Then a woodwind instrument took up the main tune, portraying more duty and the suspense of a forthcoming battle. Strings, horns, and a harp soon joined in the tune, perfectly showing what it felt like to be waiting for an upcoming battle, the determination, fear, duty, and excitement.

Now single instruments were each picking up the tune, with strings playing a tense undertone, before it evolved into rapid trills of multiple instruments once more. A horn began to play a solemn tune that was soon turned into breathless waiting, before strings took over in a gentler tune.

The strings overpowered the song, playing out a mood very like the more mundane and easy aspects of their journey; their travels and rests, soon joined by more instruments that began to rack up the tension once more. Fast trills and crescendos made up the majority of the song now.

This whole things was very dramatic right now, portraying so many moods and emotions that somehow meshed and flowed together smoothly instead of contradicting each other outright. Sometimes light, sometimes tense, sometimes dark, and with a suspenseful undertone undercutting everything, even as horns and strings now began playing more gentle and airy tunes above the strings adding suspense to the piece.

Woodwinds and strings and horns were now playing a sweet, soft tune, the suspenseful undertone completely gone from the song. Then strings overtook the entirety of the song for a time, only occasionally joined by other instruments before those other instruments took up the sweet tune, this time occasionally joined by the strings, before they all melded together into one composite whole that was a stark contrast to what the song had been previous to this part.

And _oh_ it just became sheer beauty for one overwhelming moment. It didn't last, however, and soon the gentle tune was undercut by tense strings once more, giving the song a feeling like it was building up to something.

Sure enough horns and strings combined into a frenzy, soon joined by a harp for a short time, before it rose up into a blast of noise, before quieting once more. Another blast of noise soon followed, and it was a frenzy again, a battle, a chase, a fight to regain what they rightfully deserved. Horns and strings, woodwinds and chimes, even the harp, were all a part of this. And then the deep horns overtook the piece, blasting out low notes, before a loud drumbeat sounded and everything silenced.

The silence did not last long however, just a moment, before strings began playing tensely and horns joined them, no real discernible tune until flutes took over in trills, and then horns blasted, over and over, until there was yet another frenzy of noise and music. It softened once more, but kept the feeling of suspense, and a drum roll overcame the song, followed by a few trills and then silence, before the instruments rose and were followed by the drum again. This happened twice more before the song was frantic again, everything playing with speed and urgency.

The song was a battle once more, as it rose in a crescendo of noise, becoming dramatic and almost frightening; thrilling and intense. Blasting horns, rapidly playing strings, trills of woodwinds, everything combined to make a sound that was exactly like this final battle with Naraku had been. Everybody fighting their hardest to overcome the vile hanyō plaguing them with his existence and actions.

Drums joined in regularly now, pounding out deeply as the tune became that familiar dramatic tune once again, and he wondered absently if that was to be the main tune of this song, which so far had had nothing steady about it.

The instruments were loud and overwhelmingly suspenseful now, blasting out the music until a crash of drums and cymbals, and then things suddenly softened, playing a much gentler tune. It soon turned sombre, however, reminding him of all of the senseless loss of life that Naraku had caused throughout their journey to overcome him.

The strings and the horns were now almost the only instruments playing this sombre tune, and he enjoyed the drop in tension, despite the sadness that the song was inevitably portraying.

It did not last long, however, and soon horns were playing suspense again, first more softly, then blasting it out, and then strings and the drum joined in, playing swiftly and intensely as it jumped into dramatic noise once again, before quieting.

This song certainly was a journey, and was entirely fitting to be chosen at the end of the cause of their journey this past eleven moons. Now the song was still soft and quiet, but still tense, like it was just waiting for something, and he wondered what would be coming next, before a horn began playing such a _gorgeous_ tune, one that was joyful and softly triumphant.

Strings took up the same tune, rising in beauty, joy, and triumph, even as woodwinds joined in and the horns accented them, backing them up in this sweet and stunning sound of overwhelming delight. It grew louder and louder, but was no less beautiful for the increase in volume – and then triumph overpowered everything else, overcoming the song.

Kagome's aura was supremely joyful and he knew that without a doubt, _this_ was how she felt about Naraku's final defeat.

The song became tense again, but this was a joyous tenseness, and then it softened before growing louder in a single rising note of joy and delight.

The song had ended on that rising note, and he smiled lovingly at Kagome, who was relaxed into him, breathing easily, and supremely triumphant right now. As she deserved to be. "We did it," he said. "We triumphed and won over Naraku and it is finally almost over."

His given response was her saying, "Exactly," before kissing him. He returned the kiss eagerly. They had nothing left to do today except revel in the joy of their complete triumph over the evil being who had been plaguing them.


	35. Ode to Joy

**A/N:** This is the penultimate chapter of Songs of the Heart. That's right folks, only one more chapter to go after this! I hope you have enjoyed this tale! For any so interested, I am about to be posting another Mir/Kag fic (this one a longish oneshot) called Twelve Days, in preparation for Christmas. If you feel like it, you should check it out!

 **Ode to Joy – Beethoven**

It was time. Everyone around her was breathlessly waiting and watching Kagome, all of them knowing that, until she did this final act, nothing was over yet. Roku's aura was, as always, calmly and reassuringly supporting her own, confident that she could do this. Holding the full Shikon in her palm, she took a calming breath, before stating firmly into the warm air, focusing on her utter certainty that this _was_ what she wanted, "I wish that the Shikon no Tama would cease to exist."

Nobody could have predicted what happened next.

The Shikon began to glow brightly, before, in a flash, it zoomed towards her and sank into her body, right in the centre of her chest where her heart was. As soon as it forced its way into her, her entire world was searing agony. It felt like her skin was being burned away, her muscles were being torn apart, her bones were being shattered. She collapsed to the ground, unaware of (and frankly uncaring of) the fact that her purification ki was expanded out around her in a ten metre radius now. It didn't matter, not when she felt like hot lead had replaced her bone marrow, like her veins were bursting apart at imaginary seams, like her very blood was boiling.

Time ceased to exist, and Kagome floated in a haze of pain as the jewel continued to wreak havoc upon her form. Kagome distantly realised she had screamed herself hoarse some time ago, but that thought disappeared as soon as it came upon her.

When it finally finished, Kagome was whimpering and panting, lying on the grass as she shuddered from her ki dancing across her skin, sending hot shocks of pain over it. Soon, however, Miroku was kneeling next to her head and sending his hōriki through her, which immediately soothed away the lingering pain. Nobody had a chance to say anything however, or even move any closer from their backed up positions, because soon a shining light of the purest white entered the clearing, and a being formed from it. Kagome shifted to kneel and bow her head, every fibre of her being recognising her Kami. This was Amaterasu-Ō-Mi-Kami-sama!

When She spoke, Her voice was like bells ringing in the clearing, and Kagome was absolutely certain that she was not the only person who felt Her voice shaking them down to their very bones. "Well done, child of Mine. You have done exceptionally well in your quest, and completed the task you were created to complete. The Shikon could not truly disappear, because it was born a part of you, and you, My child, can not ever truly disappear. However it is now neutralised and contained, and will never again be able to break free and sow chaos and death amongst My creations."

For a moment, Kagome was completely overpowered, bowled over by the information dump. Then her mind caught up with her and she sat up, placing her hands onto the ground beneath her as she demanded, "Wait, what do you mean that I can't disappear?! That's not possible, and even if it is, I never asked for or wanted that! I'm just a normal girl who lives an abnormal life, that's it!"

A tinkling laugh echoed into the air and Kagome was informed, "Of course you would not ask for something such as that, but nonetheless it is the case. You are a child of the Kami, Higurashi Kagome, created to neutralise and guard the Shikon no Tama. As soon as it was reunited with your body and your soul, it changed you into what you were meant to be, child. You are not merely human, little one, you are a tennyo."

The last was said with implacable gentleness, firmness, and fondness, but Kagome was _not_ about to have that! If she was a tennyo, a celestial maiden, a _literal_ child of the Kami, then she was totally immortal. That meant that she would have to watch _everyone she loved_ die, and that was a punishment, no matter that it came in a superficially pretty package. "I don't want that! You're suddenly telling me that I will have to watch every single person that I know and love _die_ while I continue to live on alone for eternity? That's no reward, that's a punishment! You're a Kami, You can do anything You want so take it _back_!"

She felt Amaterasu-Ō-Mi-Kami-sama smile at that, and the Kami knelt down to stroke her hair. It tingled and stung, but not unpleasantly, and Kagome refused to let it sway her – until Amaterasu-Ō-Mi-Kami-sama spoke again and completely blew her mind once more. "Think, little one, about what kind of an effect it would have upon someone to be spiritually bound to someone else who is a different species of being than they are? You will never be alone again, and will always have your soul mate by your side, as your being bound to each other matched his lifespan to yours because you are not human – even though, at the time, your body was, your _soul_ has  never been human, My dear child, and your souls became bound together with his shōmyō. Besides, you will also be able to fully raise your son and _he_ will not be forced to watch _you_ die. This is no punishment, Kagome, it is simply what **is**."

Kagome blinked owlishly at that, before she gasped and blurted out, "I won't lose Miroku?! You promise?!"

The Kami chuckled softly and nodded, "I swear it, My child. You will not lose your soul mate, and it will take centuries upon centuries for you to lose your yōkai friends and your son. We cannot change the fate of your human loved ones, but you will never be alone, little Kagome."

Kagome almost burst into tears over that pronouncement, but held them back resolutely, instead sincerely telling Amaterasu-Ō-Mi-Kami-sama, "Thank you _so much_."

She laughed again, before standing back up and responding with, "You are welcome, little one. Goodbye for now!"

Then the light abruptly blinked out, leaving Kagome feeling like her brain had just been scooped out, her world turned upside down, and shaky from so many emotions boiling inside of her that she couldn't even begin to even _think_ of naming them all. So she did the only thing she could do, which was abruptly shift from sitting seiza to sitting cross legged, bury her face in her hands, and state, "I think that could have gone worse. And better. Better, too, definitely. But also worse. I don't think I can handle this shit right now."

She paused, then stated firmly. "I need some music. Everyone but Roku, scram. When I'm not feeling like everything is too crazy to process we can talk about what just happened."

* * *

Kagome's statement was not at all surprising to Miroku, or really any of the rest of the group – not even Sesshōmaru-sama, Kohaku, or the three ōkami. Kagome must be feeling terribly overwhelmed right now and pretty much everyone knew by now that when Kagome was feeling anything incredibly strongly she _had_ to listen to something that either reflected her emotions or distracted her from them. It wasn't exactly a secret, after all; that had only been in the first couple of moons with them sharing music that it had been a secret. And even then it had only been by dint of them not wanting to share with anyone else how close they were growing, due to Inuyasha's treatment of her – not because they were trying to hide anything about her music and how she was affected by it.

So as the people began to empty out from the clearing, Miroku moved to pull his Kagome into his lap and stroked down her sides. She was shaking now, her body trembling from what had to be sheer overload. Miroku himself, however, was rather well pleased with the situation as it turned out – he did not have many people he considered to be friends, and while that would likely be changing over time, this meant that he and Kagome would not have to leave Shippō permanently in Sesshōmaru-sama's care once they died, like had been the plan. Of course, the daiyōkai was still going to be left in charge of educating their son in those things he needed to know that Kagome and Miroku, being human, could not teach him.

It took a while for her to relax into his body, time during which he hummed comfortingly to her and continued stroking over her back and side. Then, finally, she pulled out one of the music players she had taken to keeping on her person at all times during the past few sennights as things had gotten more and more stressful, and placed the earpieces into their ears, before saying, "This song is called "Ode to Joy" and it's part of a symphony by Beethoven. Well, kind of. It was originally a song with words composed by someone but Beethoven's version of it became the main recognisable tune. It's been remade with different lyrics a couple times but the lyrics aren't what matters, the tune itself is. I'd had this one picked out for whenever I got rid of the Shikon ages ago but… I guess there's even more to celebrate now. I think. Maybe. I don't know. I still… I still have mixed feelings about this new situation."

Of course she would. Kagome was humble to her very core and had just found out she was a celestial maiden, a _literal_ child of the Kami. Tennyo were precious beings and often messengers for the Kami. Miroku _had_ noticed that Amaterasu-Ō-Mi-Kami-sama had said goodbye to Kagome for _now_ – he had a feeling that Kagome was not done dealing with the Kami yet. However he also doubted it would have a serious or severe impact on her life; they clearly were not trying to force any true destiny upon her, such as changing the world from how it was in her future. Ah, that reminded him. "At the very least, now we will be able to visit your family _together_ , koishi, and I can meet them and thank them for raising you to be so perfect for me."

His compliment made her flush, as expected, but then she cuddled closer to him. "That's right! I hadn't thought about that. Mama will be glad to meet you, she knows how happy you make me. She'll also get to meet Shippō-kun! Okay, right. Definitely more to celebrate now. Let's listen."

She pressed play, and the music filtered into his ear, low strings playing a tune that was definitely a prelude to something joyous – the only reason it was not, in fact, already joyful was because it was clearly a counterpoint. Then higher strings came in, along with horns, and _oh_ it truly was a song of joy and jubilation. The tune trailed up and down the scales, rising higher and higher in triumph until music burst into his ear, horns and strings joining together in a blast of gorgeous notes. Then the tune changed somewhat, for a short time entirely differing from the main tune that had come before it, before flutes and woodwinds took over along with drums, softly playing the main tune once more.

It shifted again into something different but still supremely joyful and celebratory, strings playing fast and thrilling. Then they quieted and a single horn began playing slow trills interspersed with strings beginning the main tune of the song – and then the music blasted again, doing one short round of the joyous tune before the song ended on a triumphant note. Miroku smiled and kissed Kagome's forehead softly, telling her, "That was stunning, love."

She smiled up at him and fidgeted a little bit. "I don't know all of the song, mostly because the last few verses are very Christian, but I do have the first two verses memorised. Would you like to hear them? It's in German, but I can translate for you afterwards."

Miroku was intrigued. Kagome had never offered to sing for him before now, but he knew from her humming her various songs that she had a lovely voice, and so he smiled at her and said, "Of course, koishi."

She smiled back nervously, took in a deep breath, and began to sing, her voice lilting in the air surrounding them, "Freude, schöner Götterfunken, tochter aus Elysium, wir betreten feuertrunken, himmlische, dein Heiligtum! Deine Zauber binden wieder was die Mode streng geteilt; alle Menschen werden Brüder wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt. Wem der große wurf gelungen eines Freundes Freund zu sein; wer ein holdes weib errungen mische seinen Jubel ein! Ja, wer auch nur eine seele Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund! Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle weinend sich aus diesem Bund!"

The lyrics were stunning, and although he had no context of their meaning, he knew that Kagome would remedy that now. And she did. "It means… Joy, beautiful spark of divinity, daughter from Elysium, we enter, drunk with fire, heavenly, thy sanctuary! Your magics join again what custom strictly divided; all people become brothers, where your gentle wing abides. Who has succeeded in the great attempt, to be a friend's friend, whoever has won a lovely woman, add his to the jubilation! Indeed, who calls at least one soul theirs upon this world! And whoever never managed, shall steal himself weeping away from this union."

Truly, the words were fitting and he could understand why in this case Kagome had no issues with the lyrics for this song. Whilst they were not _perfect_ for the situation they were in, they _were_ a true expression of joy and jubilation. He kissed her sweetly and she smiled up at him before nodding, "Alright, let's go have that talk with the rest of them."

He nodded and stood after she did, leading the way in the direction the rest of the group had trailed off in.


	36. Valse Sentiimentale

**A/N:** This is the last chapter of Songs of the Heart. Thank you all for going on this journey with me.

* * *

 **Valse Sentimentale – Tchaikovsky**

Miroku held back a laugh as he watched Kagome flutter around their modest home in nervous excitement. Today was the day that they would be going to visit her family for the first time in almost exactly five hundred years. Kagome had been stressing about this moment ever since she found out it would be happening, and it was highly amusing to watch her clean their home as if her family would be coming _here_ to visit, instead of he and she heading to Higurashi shrine to visit _them_. His gorgeous little wife really was silly at times, but he adored that about her, and so would never complain. They would be leaving very soon indeed: in only about five minutes; but, as Miroku looked at the clock upon the wall, he decided that there was time enough for him to calm his lovely koishi down some.

Smiling, he walked over the large and top-of-the-line stereo system that was hooked up, not to their television, but to their CD player or their record player, whichever was in use at the moment, and turned it on. Miroku agreed with Kagome that vinyl was far superior in quality to CD's, so he decided to use it at this time – especially because the song he had in mind was one that Kagome tended to listen to any time she thought about meeting her family again, and so he was well familiar with the record and knew where to place the needle so it played the song he wished. It took very little time to rifle through their immense collection and find the record he was looking for, after which he placed it on the record player, hooked the stereo system up to it, and placed the needle where it needed to be on the spinning vinyl of the record.

As sound bloomed into his ears, he grabbed his wife and began dancing with her, smiling sweetly as the first strains of "Valse Sentimentale" by Tchaikovsky filled their home. Kagome smiled at him and they began to waltz around the living room.

The first sound was quietly plucked strings, before a slightly lonely and almost tense tune was started up by a single violin, with the counterpoint of more plucked strings beneath it. Miroku dipped Kagome as a few horns played a single note and lifted her up as more strings took up the tune, and he pulled her close for a kiss. She was giggling softly now, and he could not take the smile off of his own face even had he wanted to, which he did not. He adored dancing with Kagome, especially waltzes.

The violin slowed just for a time, before the music sped up and changed in tune, becoming something light hearted and happy, before it went back to the beginning of plucked strings, a single violin, and another violin playing yet another counterpoint for a short time. Then the tune changed again, yet again becoming sweet and almost joyous, so he spun her around and smoothly ended the spin with a dip, then bringing her up for a twirl. Kagome always told Miroku that he was a fantastic leader, and that it followed that he would lead well when dancing – he supposed she must be correct, since she never once faltered as he spun her around the room smoothly.

The song continued on, rising in happiness, which Kagome followed as always, smiling the entire time, before it slipped back into the beginning tune once more, and he twirled her around a second time, their feet smoothly gliding across the wooden floor as more strings played in their ears. Then the single violin played a rising trill, before the song ended on a few lovely, but bittersweet, notes.

Kagome smiled softly at him as he ended the dance, stepping into his open arms and embracing him happily. "Thank you, Roku. I needed that. I'm not too nervous any more – shall we head out?"

Miroku nodded and grabbed the keys from the hook beside the door as they slid into their shoes, stepped outside, locked the door behind them, and headed into the car. It was time to meet his in-laws.

* * *

Kagome had been nervous and almost terrified before her wonderful husband played exactly the perfect song to calm her down, and managed to calm her even more by dancing with her, which was always exciting to her. Kagome had always loved to dance, but had never learned how – until her new lease on life, that is. Miroku and Kagome had travelled for most of their lives, first around Japan, and then around the world. They had lived in Europe for quite a long period of time, and Kagome had learned many dances over there, both simple and complex, as well as having been able to see many of her favourite artists in concerts. It was enthralling, really, to have lived through history in such a way.

Of course, there had been those terrible wars, which she and Roku – Kagome having the foreknowledge about the wars enough to be able to know exactly when they needed to escape – had deftly avoided getting mired in. Life had been fun, although by no means had it been easy. However, her friends and family had made her life one worth living. They still did, in fact. Sesshōmaru-ni was a wealthy businessman who owned the land her shrine was on, as well as the forested area behind it, which was – although she had not known this growing up – actually a nature reserve, one of five he owned around the world. Shippō had a rather different job, travelling all over the world and making sure that yōkai and hanyō were safely disguised so they could blend in with human society without getting caught out. It kept him busy and used his extremely complicated illusions rather regularly.

Her son had had several families over the past four centuries, all of whom she still kept tabs on from afar, although he had not settled down with a mate as of yet. He might never, which Kagome was fine with – he was a kitsune, after all; variety was the name of the game for kitsune.

Her other children… Well. They had flourished, and she had descendants all over the world – _literally_ all over the world, as her wonderful male couldn't keep his hands off of her and inevitably got her pregnant again once their children had grown into adults and had their own families. Their first family began shortly after she married him when she was sixteen, and they had had ten children over those first years, living in Edo as the resident miko and monk. Whenever one of them was called away to deal with a yōkai problem, the other stayed behind to watch over the children – most amusingly it had generally been her wonderful husband staying behind – and keep the village safe.

Not that there had been much necessity of that, as her wonderful ani-san had patrolled by Edo regularly, not only to visit her and teach Shippō those things that only a yōkai could teach him, but also to make sure the area was saturated with his yōki, declaring it under his protection and driving the majority of yōkai away because not a one of them wanted to get on Sesshōmaru-ni's bad side. Inuyasha aniki, on the other hand, had continued to live in the forest, going travelling for about four months every year just to meet up with friends and get a move on with his life. He had been given a new lease on it, one in which he was not rejected and constantly attacked, but a respected figure and accepted by those who knew him. He eventually mated Shiori, the bat hanyō they had met at the beginning of their journey together, and they had lived a long life together, dying only half a century ago.

A hand touched her arm, and Kagome was pulled from her musings as they pulled up to the shrine. Nervousness bloomed in her chest before Miroku kissed her, and she smiled sweetly at him as they left the car and began the trek up the many steps leading to her old home. She placed a hand on her stomach, smiling again, and Roku caught the gesture at the top of the steps, asking her, "Are you going to tell them?"

She nodded, and he chuckled softly. "I bet your family will be thrilled, koishi."

Kagome did too. Mama would be so happy to know she had a grandchild on the way.

Giving her husband a loving look, she knocked on the door of the house she had lived in during her first year of adventuring in the past, and smiled vividly as her mama opened the door and stared at her in shock. She had a story to tell – and a family to catch up with.

Her life was amazing. And to think, it had all begun with a song.


End file.
